A 75-TONNE fishing trawler had to be rescued by a lifeboat crew after it started to sink.

Swanage RNLI responded to the mayday call at around 3.15pm on Saturday.

The 22m boat was taking on a lot of water and the pumps on board were “unable to cope”, according to a spokesperson for the lifeboat station.

They said: “The lifeboat slipped its mooring and made its way at full speed. Two local boats that were in the area had also gone to assist just in case the two people on the boat decided to abandon ship.

“The lifeboat arrived on scene in just under 10 minutes and two crew were put aboard to assess the situation. The vessel had a lot of water below deck, and there was a serious risk that the boat might be lost.

“The skipper and his crew had their lifejackets on and were briefed to get on to the lifeboat if the water level increased any further.

“The lifeboat’s powerful salvage pump and an extra crewman were transferred over and, a few minutes, later the water was being pumped out. After a quick check below deck, the source of the main leak was found to be a broken pipe from the engine’s cooling system, meaning that the boat’s engine was pumping the water in.”

The crew switched off the engine and towed the boat towards Poole Harbour following the five-hour operation.

Poole lifeboat volunteers assisted on the quayside with securing the mooring lines.

Earlier that afternoon, Poole's all-weather lifeboat, City of Sheffield, was launched by Solent Coastguard to assist a 32ft yacht. 

The yacht was under sail when it experienced an engine failure. The vessel, which had one person on board, would have been unable to sail into the harbour against the tide so asked for assistance.

The stricken vessel was some three miles southeast of the bar, in Poole Bay, when the lifeboat arrived.

A crewman was put on board to assist the single-handed yachtsman, a tow was attached and the vessel was brought back into Poole. 

A spokesperson for Poole RNLI said: "The vessel was safely taken back into Poole Harbour and through the Poole Bridge to its berth. The Poole lifeboat then returned back to station and was ready for service by 7pm."

It was Poole RNLI's 76th call out so far this year.