The sailors were in the country to attend a military sports tournament, the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service (CFNIS) said.

The men have appeared in court charged with one count of sexual assault each.

The incident took place in barracks at an air base at Shearwater, near Halifax, on Thursday.

The alleged victim is a woman not in the military, the CFNIS said.

The men have been named as Craig Stoner, Darren Smalley, Joshua Finbow and Simon Radford, in a statement on the Government of Canada website.

Canadian officials said they were members of the Royal Navy ice hockey team.