Fishermen's 'lucky' escape as rock sinks boat

Tynemouth's Severn class lifeboat (similar to the Yarmouth boat pictured) went to the pair's aid

Two fishermen had a "lucky" escape after their boat was sunk by a large rock hauled up in their nets, the Coastguard has said.

The pair were fishing for prawns 18 miles off the Tyneside coast when they brought the boulder on board.

The Coastguard and Tynemouth RNLI were alerted by a concerned relative of the crew at about 14:00 BST on Sunday.

The lifeboat found the pair in a raft after the duo activated an emergency position beacon.

The Coastguard said they were initially able to make radio contact with the crew from Eyemouth who said they had hauled the rock on to the deck.

Contact was lost shortly afterwards and the boat's emergency indicator radio beacon (EPIRB) was activated.

'Extremely lucky'

The Coastguard's search and rescue helicopter was also dispatched to the rescue.

Bev Allen, duty controller for HM Coastguard, said: "The two crew were extremely lucky, we knew something was wrong as soon as we lost contact and the activation of their EPIRB confirmed it.

"Thankfully, the crew were wearing their lifejackets and were able to get into their life raft and are now both safe and well."

She urged all boat users to sign up to the EPIRB register.