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Cargo liner RMS St Helena, one of only four remaining Royal Mail ships, has weighed anchor in the South Atlantic for the last time.

She has served St Helena for 27 years as the only link for the 4,000 people who live here. Now the remote, isolated island’s €280million airport is finally open for commercial flights from South Africa after problems with wind shear prevented safe landings, The RMS is not needed for her 10-day round trips from Cape Town.

A series of events marked the final sailaway from the island and she was escorted out to sea by a flotilla, before a sail-past of the harbour at the capital Jamestown in full regalia. She carried 128 passengers and will now be sold.

The island was where Napoleon was exiled after his defeat at Waterloo in 1815 and attracts tourists for its rare flora and fauna and its dramatic landscape.