Two men rescued from sinking boat near Burnham-on-Sea

Volunteers rescued two men from a sinking trawler in the Bristol Channel on Thursday morning

Two men were rescued from trawler that was sinking in the Bristol Channel.

The stricken vessel was reported to be taking on water at 07:30 BST on Thursday before Burnham-on-Sea RNLI's crew was dispatched.

The trawler was travelling from Watchet harbour to Portishead, when the two-man crew noticed water coming in.

They made a radio plea for urgent help, which was quickly escalated to an emergency "mayday" call by Milford Haven Coastguard control.

Doug, one of the men who were rescued, said it was "really scary".

"These boats, when they go, they can slip below the waves in seconds," he added.

"It was really scary, I'm thinking this could happen at any moment."

The Burnham Atlantic lifeboat was launched and made its way to the trawler, reaching it off Hinkley Point.

Attempts to save the craft were eventually abandoned and the crew watched over it until it sank

Its engine room was found to be taking on water and its pumps could not cope with the amount coming in.

A salvage pump deployed by the lifeboat crew also failed to make headway and the craft was settling lower in the water.

A second lifeboat then arrived at the scene, and the trawler's crew were taken off the vessel as the fight to reduce the level of water in the engine room continued in vain.

Eventually, all attempts to save the craft were abandoned and lifeboat crew watched over it until it sank.

"The Burnham guys were great guys, absolutely brilliant, professional people," Doug said.

The rescued crew were then taken to Burnham-on-Sea.

Follow BBC West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [e-mail]