Phone was my lifeline, Devon man rescued by RNLI says

Ashley Wright said his wife and children were his reason to get home, and thanked the RNLI volunteers

A fisherman has been reunited with RNLI volunteers and coastguards a year after they saved his life.

Ashley Wright described how he feared the worst when he floated about 1.5 miles (2.4km) out to sea after his boat sank off south-east Cornwall.

The father-of-two, from Princetown, Devon, said he was in the water for about 20 minutes and made a "final call" to his wife.

Mr Wright did not have a life jacket, flare or radio, but did have his phone.

"I had this lifeline when I found my phone," he said.

"I thought I was saved when it lit up. I expected it to die at any second."

Mr Wright said he told his wife on a voicemail that he loved her and described how the call was his final goodbye.

'Saved my life'

He described how he managed to call Falmouth Coastguard while stranded in the sea, who tasked Plymouth RNLI.

The station launched a lifeboat that was directed towards Whitsand Bay, where the crew found him being pulled aboard a passing boat by a fellow fisherman.

James Scott, from Plymouth RNLI, said it was "lucky" Mr Wright had his mobile phone to call for help.

"The outcome could have been significantly different and he might not have been here today," he said.

James Scott, from Plymouth RNLI, said it was "lucky" Ashley Wright had his mobile phone to call for help

Plymouth RNLI volunteer Josh Hay added: "It was really hard to tell what we were going to find.

"I was not convinced I was going to find somebody who was alive on the back of the fishing boat.

"It was fantastic to find someone who was as OK as he was."