THE ‘hero’ who untied a boat that was engulfed in flames to ensure other vessels weren’t caught in the inferno has described the dramatic scenes unfolding – as he revealed its owners had only purchased the boat that very same day.

The boat caught fire at Poole’s Parkstone Yacht Club at around 8.35pm on Monday, sparking a huge emergency services response. 

Nick Parkin, who owns a boat at the yacht club untied the boat from its moorings and pushed it away from the other boats on the pontoon.

He said: “I was just having dinner and someone shouted. I could see that the boat was alight.

“The man who had shouted was in a little boat. I literally undid the electrics, undid the ropes and pushed it out and he just gave it a nudge and we just let it drift off. 

“I just thought the best thing to do was get it away, there’s a lot of equipment in it. 

“One of these boats is for sale and I was thinking, ‘I know how much that boat is worth and you don’t want to go anywhere near it’.” 

Bosses at Parkstone Yacht Club said the boat’s owners had been eating dinner on site and watched in disbelief as it went up in flames.

The couple are currently being put up in a hotel. 

Firefighters, Coastguard officers, RNLI volunteers and the helicopter harbour master all flocked to the scene as the flames took hold.

He added: “When you look at who was here – the Coastguard, lifeboats, helicopter, harbour master and the fire engines  - the whole lot were here. 

“It was really well attended and actually I must say the guy, Jack, from behind the bar was brilliant. 

“A boat fire is really dangerous and because we’ve got a motorboat, we’ve got an electronic fire extinguisher but that fire was right inside the boat, right in the engine.”

Parkstone general manager Paul Jennings said: "He is the man, he's our hero, he actually slept on board his boat." 

Mr Parkin said the new owners of the boat had acquired it on the same day it caught fire. Emergency services remain on scene today, while the cause of the fire is investigated.