A TEAM of 14 sailors and marines from HM Naval Base Clyde helped the Robin House Children’s Hospice get ready for its garden open day on Saturday, 10 September 2016.

The Faslane team headed over the hill to the hospice in nearby Balloch, and spent a whole day carrying out garden maintenance – weeding and clearing away leaf litter.

Submariner Able Seaman Logistician (Steward) Danielle Skinner said: "Robin House carries out brilliant work allowing families with terminally ill children to have fun and enjoy being together at a very difficult time in their lives – it was a humbling and positive experience and an absolute pleasure to help out in this small way."

Scotland’s second children’s hospice, Robin House, was opened in 2005.

Like Scotland’s first children’s hospice Rachel House, the hospice offers a purpose-built ‘home from home’ with accommodation for eight families from across Scotland at any one time.

HM Naval Base Clyde is Scotland’s largest military establishment and is home to the UK Submarine Service.

Earlier this month a Clyde-based Royal Navy sailor was recognised for his outstanding work in Explosive Ordnance Disposal.

Leading Diver Scott McAllister is part of Northern Diving Group (NDG), the unit responsible for bomb disposal across a huge swath of Scotland and Northern England.

Scott recently picked up an award for being NDG’s “Sailor of the Year,” the prize in recognition of his part in a mission to a remote Scottish village where a large amount of unstable explosives were found near a primary school.

On the night of November 6 last year, Scott arrived by helicopter at Scoraig, south of Ullapool.

A local resident happened upon a supply of explosives and detonators stored in an outhouse just meters from the village’s school.

The previous owner of the shed had been involved in the quarrying industry and was licensed to hold a supply of plastic explosives.

But after the owner had passed away they lay forgotten in the locked outhouse.

By the time they were discovered, it was estimated that the explosives were around 30 years old and had deteriorated to the point where they were potentially unstable.

After inspecting the scene, Scott used his Explosive Ordnance Disposal expertise to tackle the situation, safely moving the plastic explosives and detonators to a nearby beach where a controlled explosion was carried out.