A fisherman has been rescued by lifeboat crews after his boat sank off the coast of Sandwich.

A windsurfer dialled 999 when he spotted the motorboat in trouble last night, but the man, believed to be 50, had also put a call through when the vessel started sinking.

Ron Cannon, Lifeboat operations manager at Ramsgate Lifeboat Station said: “When we got there he was in the water and the boat had sunk.”

A helicopter was also called but was stood down when the lifeboats got the scene.

He was taken aboard the Inshore lifeboat, the Bob Turnbull, and then transferred to the offshore boat the Esme Anderson.

“He was hypothermic and in a considerable amount of shock,” added Mr Cannon.

“He has lost his boat and his livelihood.”

The man, who lives in Ramsgate, was landed back at the town’s port and an ambulance crew took him to the QEQM hospital in Margate.

His boat sank in waters just off the Sandwich Bay Estate near the old Guilford Hotel.

It was still in the water on Friday morning but has been marked so it doesn’t cause a problem for other vessels.