Crew rescued from sinking vessel off Dorset coast

The crew of a fishing boat have been rescued after their vessel began sinking off the Dorset coast.

Portland Coastguard was alerted at about 1515 GMT after the 11m (36ft) Purbeck Isle began taking on water off Chesil Beach, west of Portland.

The Weymouth RNLI all-weather lifeboat and the rescue helicopter were sent to the scene and three other fishing vessels also responded to the alert.

Three people on board were rescued and their boat was being towed to shore.

The coastguard helicopter's salvage pump was used to pump out the water while it was under tow into Weymouth.