Sir Francis Chichester’s son Giles, also a yachtsman like his famous father, will be all at sea during the European election battle for south-west England. For the Tory MEP has had Gibraltar tacked on to his constituency.

The Rock -annexed to West Country counties like Cornwall and Devon when it elects MEPs for the first time in June – will make campaigning a little more difficult than usual.

The move stems from a European Court of Human Rights ruling in 1999 saying that the Rock’s residents should have a say on who gets sent to the European Parliament.

Gibraltar is too small to have its own MEP and the Electoral Commission decided it should be annexed to the West Country.