Parade of sail begins Blyth Tall Ships Gothenburg voyage

The Shtandart from Russia - a replica of the 1703 frigate built by Peter the Great - was one of the largest vessels

A fleet of tall ships headed out to sea from a Northumberland port as part of a four-day regatta.

More than 20 of some of the finest vessels in the world have been on show in Blyth since Friday, attracting tens of thousands of visitors.

Nineteen of the ships took part in a parade of sail as part of the North Sea Tall Ships Regatta.

The event will end with a race from the Northumberland coast to Gothenburg, Sweden.

Northumberland County Council, which jointly organised the regatta, hailed it as a success and said it hoped it would open the door to similar events.

The event attracted ships from as far afield as Portugal and Russia to take part in the 500-nautical mile race across the North Sea to Sweden.

Crowds lined the sea shore to watch the ships depart

Councillor Grant Davey, leader of the county council, said he hoped it would put Blyth on the map for future events.

He said: "We'll move on to bigger and better things in the future."