Trafalgar stamps depict painting

Six Royal Mail stamps commemorating the bicentenary of Nelson's victory at Trafalgar have gone on sale.

The stamps depict details from a rarely-displayed painting by William Heath showing the 1805 battle.

The two first class stamps show Nelson wounded and the British ships, the cutter Entreprenante and Belleisle, which was left dismasted.

Heath's original watercolour, A Panorama Of The Battle Of Trafalgar, was completed around 1825.

Decisive moment

The attempts by the Entreprenante to rescue the crew of French ship Achille and the schooner Pickle are featured on two 42p stamps.

The stamps were launched by First Sea Lord Sir Alan West

Two 68p stamps show the Royal Navy's two columns attack the combined Franco-Spanish fleet.

The stamps were launched by First Sea Lord Sir Alan West at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, where Heath's picture is stored.

"I'm delighted that this rarely seen work of art will be viewed by people again on millions of letters every day," said Julietta Edgar, Royal Mail head of special stamps.

"The use of William Heath's amazing watercolour has produced a truly first-class set of stamps and a fitting commemoration to this decisive historical moment."