The brothers who found the wreck of the royal ship Gloucester off Great Yarmouth have returned to the site for the first time this year.

Since the discovery was announced on June 10, Wroxham-based Julian and Lincoln Barnwell have faced a deluge of questions and requests for interviews from the world's media.

But on Thursday they finally got the chance to return to doing what they most love - strapping on Scuba gear and diving under the waves to the spot the ship sank in 1682, shortly before future king James II - who was aboard at the time - was able to escape onto a smaller boat.

Julian said he has been astounded by the amount of interest the wreck's discovery - made in 2007 along with friend James Little - had stirred up.

He said: "The response has been fantastic - we have friends in New Zealand who were sitting having breakfast and the next thing it popped up on their national news. It has been great to share it after all these years."

The announcement of the find was delayed so the ship's identity could be confirmed, and so the right team could be put in place to properly study and protect the wreck.

On this week's dive - which lasted about an hour - the brothers found a new sand wave which was covering the stern section, as well as some broken bottles and other items of wreckage they had not seen before.

"It was so good to be back in the water again. The key word for the site is dynamic - it's always changing, that's generally what happens from season to season," Julian said.

Julian said there would be no excavations this year at the site - that would wait for next season - and the next few months would be about developing a plan of action for the future.

He said: "This year there will be archaeological survey work. We're going to do some underwater filming and the Maritime Archaeology Trust are going to come and do a photogrammetry.

"That's basically a photo mosaic where you swim over the site, the camera takes about 4,000-5,000 images and you stitch them all together, so you can really identify what's happening.

“That will be the springboard going forward. We’ll have to go to the MOD and say, 'this is what we propose for the site', and why.”

“It’s a big project and you have many seasons of work that need to be funded. There have been more cannons posted this year than in the previous years - it really is such an incredible site.”

Julian said they had so far got 10 enquires about making a documentary on the discovery, and the brothers - who run Barnwell Print in Aylsham - are keen to pen a book about the find.

Lord Richard Dannatt, a Norfolk Deputy Lieutenant and former head of the British Army, is lending his skills and support to the historic rescue project.

He said: "This is going to be Norfolk’s Mary Rose.

"Julian and Lincoln have touched history, history that could have changed the course of this nation. It’s such an amazing story to tell. Our aim is to bring that story to life and to share it with as many people as possible.”

The ship sank within about an hour after it hit a sandbank, about 30 miles off the coast.

As well as James II, the Gloucester carried a number of prominent English and Scottish courtiers including John Churchill, later the 1st Duke of Marlborough.

Diarist and naval administrator Samuel Pepys, who witnessed events from another ship in the fleet, wrote his own account - describing the harrowing experience for victims and survivors, with some picked up “half dead” from the water.