Littlehampton lifeboat crews spot boat fire

Littlehampton's Blue Peter 1 was launched at 4.30pm, when a fishing boat reported being in difficulty 4.5-miles south of the harbour entrance, but when it was towed back to Ford, the crew discovered a fire on a another vessel.

Emma White, press officer for Littlehampton lifeboats, said: "The 10m vessel near the harbour had a faulty turbo, and was unable to make it back to its moorings. With only three hours till low tide, the priority was to get the boat over the bar while there was sufficient water.

"Back on land the shore crew and the harbour board were manoeuvring boats on the visitors' moorings to make space for the arriving casualty, when they became aware of the smell of smoke."

West Sussex Fire and Rescue were called, and lifeboat crewmen helped firefighters pump water from the boat, once the fire was out.

Nick White, lifeboat operations manager, added: "Our crew and shore crew did a good job not made easy by freezing conditions."

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