The Belgian 'hero' who invaded UK fishing waters

When Victor Depaepe decided to invade England, he knew it would mean a confrontation with the Royal Navy. The thought of backing down never crossed his mind - it was 1963 and Europe was otherwise at peace. But Victor was a man on a mission.

When he set out from the Belgian port of Zeebrugge in his little trawler, he was armed only with a sense of history and a determination to stick up for the rights of his fellow Belgian fishermen.

He had even cabled the Queen and the Admiralty in London before setting sail to reassure them that he was not a pirate: "I am a British-minded man," he explained, "And I am coming as a friend."

Victor wasn't a full-time trawler captain, he was a successful accountant and member of the city council of Bruges, an ancient centre of learning and commerce which was once among the richest cities in the world

For centuries, Bruges was connected to the North Sea by a deep-water canal, and was home to a substantial fishing fleet which by tradition worked the rich waters off the English coast.