Darth Vader and Storm Troopers take a trip down the Severn estuary

Welcome to the new Death Star! It looks like Darth Vader has found a different interstellar vehicle...and it can travel on water as well as through space.

In this video the Sith Lord and his stormtroopers sail the dark tide of the River Severn in a lifeboat.

The Force was strong in the stunt to publicise the area's starring role in the new Star Wars film, The Force Awakens.

Lightsabers at the ready, they travelled up the estuary, under the Severn Bridge and came ashore at the lifeboat station in Beachley, Gloucestershire during the voyage earlier this week.

Scenes of the newest addition to the trilogy were filmed at nearby Puzzlewood in the Forest of Dean.

Kevin Caster, of the Severn Area Rescue Association, said:

This comes a week after a group of Stormtroopers surfed the Severn Bore in another stunt leading up to the film's release on December 17.

Mark Terry-Lush, director of Wye Valley and Forest of Dean Tourism, said:

Other productions to have filmed scenes at Puzzlewood in recent years include Merlin, Doctor Who and Hollywood movie, Jack the Giant Slayer.