RNLI rescuers and the RAF were scrambled after a 14-ft boat with three people on board issued a Mayday distress signal off Clacton Pier yesterday.

Roddy Ashworth

RNLI rescuers and the RAF were scrambled after a 14-ft boat with three people on board issued a Mayday distress signal off Clacton Pier yesterday.

The call, using VHF channel 16, came at around 8.30am from the vessel Yellow Submarine which was sinking about half a mile offshore.

Clacton RNLI Atlantic 75 Inshore Lifeboat, Clacton Coastguard, Walton All Weather Lifeboat and RAF Rescue Helicopter 125 from Wattisham were sent to the scene by Thames Coastguard.

Two boats in the area - the Sophie Lee and the Caroline - also went to the aid of the stricken vessel and it was later successfully beached at Clacton.

A spokesman for Thames Coastguard, based at Walton on the Naze, said: “There were no injuries - it seems that the boat had been patched up and was taking in water.

“The boat was brought safely ashore.”