A 26-year-old Royal Navy sailor has been jailed for stealing specialist diver watches used by elite SBS commandos and selling them for up to £500 on eBay.

Able Seaman Joshua Cheetham stole the watches – which operate at 300m underwater while working as a storeman on warship HMS Kent.

A court martial heard Cheetham, who was in serious debts for living outside his means, resorted to selling the specialist timepieces on eBay for between £300 to £500 each.

The hearing was told Cheetham made £1,642 by selling six watches stolen from stores on the Type-23 frigate based in Portsmouth, Hampshire.

He was caught out in February 2021 when buyers contacted the Ministry Of Defence to check the validity of the watches.

Following a search of his home, Cheetham, a logistician, admitted two counts of theft – which stretched over a six-month period – and one of fraud when interviewed by police.

He has now been dismissed and sentenced to military prison for three months by a board at Bulford Military Court, Wiltshire.