Brit warship HMS Diamond comes under attack from Houthi drones before blasting them with Sea Viper missiles in Red Sea

A BRITISH warship shot down a Houthi drone attack in the latest ambush from Iran-backed rebels in the Red Sea.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Diamond was forced to defend itself with Sea Viper missiles as the militants continued their relentless campaign of attacks.

The UK Ministry of Defence on Sunday said they had "successfully repelled" the Houthi attack drones fired at HMS Diamond.

The enormous warship used its formidable Sea Viper missiles to take down the rebel threat in the clash on Saturday.

The same ship has been forced to take on Houthi fighters before as they continue their relentless campaign of aggression in one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.

Saturday appears to be only the third time the Type 45 destroyer has deployed its devastating Sea Viper missiles.

They said: "Yesterday HMS Diamond successfully repelled a drone attack from the Iranian-backed Houthis in the Red Sea.

"Deploying her Sea Viper missile system, Diamond destroyed a drone targeting her, with no injuries or damage sustained to Diamond or her crew.

"These intolerable and illegal attacks are completely unacceptable and it is our duty to protect the freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.

"We want to thank the brave crew of HMS Diamond for their service to defend British and international interests."

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps today said Britain "remains undaunted" by yesterday's attack on the warship.

Just weeks ago the same warship was hit in what Defence Secretary Grant Shapps dubbed the biggest attack from the Iranian-backed Houthis in the Red Sea to date.

Working with a US warship the British and American forces had to use bomb-carrying drones, anti-ship cruise missiles and an anti-ship ballistic missile to tackle the Houthi threat.

Shapps though HMS Diamond was "deliberately targeted" by the rebels.

And this week a burning British oil tanker was rescued off the coast of Yemen after it was struck by a Houthi rebel missile on Friday.

Iran-backed Houthi fighters claimed responsibility for the chilling revenge attack on the Marlin Luanda ship, which burst into flames, in the Gulf of Aden.

The strikes this week appear to be the latest revenge attempts by Houthi forces after the US and UK carried out airstrikes on their rebel bases earlier in January.

The militant group has been attacking cargo ships in the Red Sea in retaliation for Israel's continued bombardment of Hamas in the Gaza strip.

And Britain's ships in the Red Sea have come under attack from Houthi rebels who have vowed to inflict economic pain in the West in revenge for the war in Gaza.

On January 11, western forces led by the UK and US obliterated 60 military targets in total under the cover of darkness, weakening the Iran-backed terror proxy in Yemen.

A second UK-US attack then took place near the capital city Sanaa.

The rising tensions in the Red Sea have led the UK to beef up its defences by upgrading its Sea Viper surface-to-air missile system.

The Houthis warned the strikes "will not go unpunished" after RAF Typhoon jets blasted eight Houthi sites when rebels refused to halt attacks on ships in the Red Sea.

Earlier this week, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke to Parliament and said: "We must end the illegal sale of arms to the Houthi militia.

"We are going to use the most effective means at our disposal to cut off financial flows to the Houthis. We will keep all other tools at our disposal under review."