Storm Amy fishing boat rescue takes two days

The Bridlington crew launched into the pounding surf caused by Storm Amy on Friday evening

Lifeboat crews braved "incredibly difficult" seas twice in two days to rescue a fishing boat caught up in Storm Amy off the Yorkshire coast.

Volunteers at RNLI Scarborough were called out shortly before midday on Friday to the 79ft (24m) vessel which had lost power as it was being battered by gale force winds and heavy seas 26 miles off the resort.

It took until Saturday afternoon for a lifeboat crew from Bridlington, which had ventured into the storm for a second time, to finally tow the boat and its crew to safety.

Bridlington coxswain Andy Rodgers said the weekend rescue had been "challenging" for both crews in "very testing North Sea conditions".

Here's how the rescue unfolded over 24 hours in conditions described by the RNLI as "incredibly rough".

The Scarborough RNLI all-weather boat was the first to arrive shortly before 12:00 BST on Friday to rescue the fishing boat which was originally 26 miles off Scarborough.

The crew began to tow the stranded vessel to safety, but after struggling to make headway for more than five hours in worsening conditions, Bridlington RNLI were called out to assist the stricken boat which was now 15 miles south-east of Bridlington.

The Bridlington RNLI crew were called out twice before finally bringing the stranded fishing boat to safety

The Bridlington crew took over the rescue shortly after 19:00 BST and attempted to tow the vessel to Grimsby.

Due to slow progress whilst towing a boat weighing 130 tonnes, the Humber RNLI Pride of Humber was called at 00.15 BST on Saturday to assist.

A tug boat then took over the rescue to take the boat to Scarborough and the Bridlington lifeboat was stood down and made its way back to Bridlington.

Shortly after midday on Saturday the Bridlington RNLI crew were called out again as both the tug and the fishing boat were not making any progress off Flamborough Head.

By 13:20 the Bridlington volunteers once again took the fishing vessel under tow and managed to reach a safe area, where it dropped anchor. The RNLI crew made its way back to Bridlington, finally reaching the beach just before 18:20 BST.

Storm Amy brought heavy rain and strong winds to large parts of the UK - leaving thousands of homes without power across Scotland and Northern Ireland.

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