Princes William and Harry have been filmed helping the flood relief effort by shifting sandbags in Kate Middleton's home county of Berkshire.

The princes, both military trained, were spotted moving sandbags in Datchet, Guardian journalist Robert Booth wrote.

Footage obtained exclusively by the newspaper showed William and Harry helping out soldiers move sandbags in the flooded Datchet.

Booth said they were helping on a railway crossing in the village with 20 members of the Household Cavalry and Network Rail staff to load the bags onto a railway truck.

They were dressed in waterproofs and formed part of a human chain to distribute the bags. William stayed inside the truck while Harry braved the rain with the other soldiers.

Approaching Booth, William said: "Why don't you put your notebook down and give us a hand with the sandbags?"

When he agreed to help, royal aides said this was not possible, however, as he was not adequately dressed.

"After the truck was loaded up, the small team was briefed by a Network Rail official and they marched off down the railway line to their next destination," Booth wrote.