Swanage coast rescue: Fisherman pulled from water after boat sinks

Lifeboat crews from Swanage were sent after the fisherman put out a mayday call from his trawler

A fisherman has been rescued after his boat sank rapidly off the Dorset coast.

The fisherman made a mayday call saying his trawler was sinking off Anvil Point, Swanage at about 02:10 BST.

A nearby boat whose crew picked up the mayday and spotted flares found him in the water before RNLI lifeboat crews arrived and pulled him from the sea.

The fisherman was "cold and in a state of shock but otherwise unharmed", the coastguard said.

Dai Jones, duty controller for HM Coastguard, said the fisherman "kept his head and did all the right things".

He said immediately putting out the mayday call when the boat began taking on water and letting off flares "meant the vessel which came to his aid could pinpoint where he was sinking within minutes".

"He had his lifejacket on, and the lights on that lifejacket made it easy for him to be spotted in the water. All of his actions gave him the best possible chance of survival."

He added "things may have ended differently" had the fisherman not acted in the way he did.