A HIT thriller that takes place onboard a nuclear submarine has been described as 'far-fetched' by a former Royal Navy officer who lives in Barrow.

Barrie Downer, the secretary of the Submariners Association's Barrow branch, said there were a number of inaccuracies in the BBC One murder mystery drama.

Set onboard a fictitious Vanguard-class Trident submarine, the show sees a police detective called on to the boat to investigate the suspicious death of a crew member.

An early scene in the programme shows chief petty officer Craig Burke talk back to his commander.

But Mr Downer, who served on four nuclear submarines, said the portrayal of the crew members was one of a number of inaccuracies in the programme.

"Some of is a bit far-fetched," he said.

"There's no way people would behave that way, including the arrogance of the officers to the civilian on board.

"The author is taking dramatic licence.

"Everything is exaggerated in its size.

"My concern is this programme will give the wrong impression of what it's like on a submarine."

He added that crew members were always 'highly professional' with a sense that 'you're all in it together'.

Mr Downer, 75, served in the Navy for 41 years before starting work at Barrow shipyard.

It has been reported that Royal Navy chiefs are worried the show's so-called negative portrayal of life under the sea could hamper recruitment.

One military source was reported to have told a national newspaper: "The key thing is the negative way officers and ratings have been portrayed.

"That is very far from the truth.

"Who would join the Royal Navy given this cast of scheming, incompetent and ill-disciplined characters?"

The show’s executive producer and lead director James Strong said experts were called in to make it realistic.

He said: “We worked incredibly hard with that but it’s a drama, not a documentary.

“We had an ex-submariner who was on set to make sure people were behaving in the way they would."