A Rolls Royce was lowered into an outdoor swimming pool to mark - the birthday of legendary drummer Keith Moon, it has been claimed.

The high end £500,000 Phantom EWB was seen submerged in the Tinside Lido on Plymouth's sea front last weekend.

Rolls Royce said it was an ‘exciting global moment’ for the firm and promised more details soon.

But according to Rolling Stone magazine the car was placed there as part of a shoot in honour of The Who drummer Moon who died aged 32 in 1978.

Legend says that Moon once drove a Roller into a pool to celebrate his own 21st birthday at a Holiday Inn in Michigan.

He later said he thought it was owned by a guest and he simply released the handbrake and watched it roll in.

Moon is regarded as one of the greatest drummers in the history of rock music, he was noted for his unique playing style and eccentric, often self-destructive behaviour.

Moon's drumming continues to be praised by critics and musicians. He was posthumously inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 1982, becoming the second rock drummer to be chosen, and in 2011 he was voted the second-greatest drummer in history by a Rolling Stone readers' poll.

The image of a Rolls Royce in a swimming pool then became a rock icon - with even Oasis recreating it for their 'Be Here Now' cover.

Rolling Stone magazine says the Plymouth version was carried out deliberately near what would have been Moon's 79th birthday on August 23.

The mag says the Plymouth location was chosen because The Beatles once posed there while filming The Magical Mystery Tour.

Rolls Royce have been contacted for a comment. Written by Elizabeth Hunter, SWNS.