A man had to be rescued when his fishing boat was hit by a squall on the River Thames yesterday.

The man - a nurse at Darent Valley Hospital - had spent several days around Egypt Bay fishing with his dog, Boxer, as company.

A sudden squall forced his boat onto a bank where it started filling with water.

Unable to get off, the man radio'd a Mayday to the Coastguard.

The RNLI lifeboat from Gravesend raced to the scene, and quickly got a rope aboard his boat.

They pulled him into deeper water. There the craft was bailed out,

Boxer, which had been trapped in the rising water, was swiftly rubbed down and given plenty of attention until he calmed down.

An RNLI spokesman said: "The man was from Medway. He was fully equipped and did everything exactly as he should have done. He knew what he was doing. He was just unfortunate."