This is what Dover RNLI had to deal with yesterday morning.

It has now been confirmed as the wheelhouse of a sunken fishing boat.

Dover RNLI were called out at 8.05am to deal with the debris, with was midway in the Channel in the south west shipping lane.

The crew has now learned that it came from a fishing boat that sank off Christchurch, Dorset, two weeks ago.

It was approximately four miles north of the Varne.

From a distance when approaching the debris in the water, Dover RNLI volunteer crew members suspected it was part of a shed floating but upon closer inspection as volunteer crew member Adam Dixon jumped into the water, the crew discovered it was actually part of a wheelhouse from a fishing vessel.

Deputy 2nd Coxswain Robert Bendhiaf said: "HM Coastguard confirmed the wheelhouse was debris from a fishing vessel which sunk a number of weeks ago in the Solent. The wreck had been marked by Trinity House."

Leaving large debris floating within the busiest shipping lanes in the world wasn't an option, so Dover RNLI crew used the boat crane to winch the wheelhouse remains onto the deck of the Severn class lifeboat and prevent danger to shipping and boaters using the south west shipping lane.

On Saturday, August 6, Lymington RNLI and Yarmouth RNLI crews attended the boat in the Solent.

Lymington RNLI volunteer crew members evacuated the two occupants of the vessel and once on the scene, Yarmouth RNLI begun to use their salvage pump in an attempt to save the vessel from sinking.

Both crews were unable to save the sinking vessel.

Dover RNLI spokesman Ed Baker said: "We learned from Dover Coastguard where the object originated from.

"We removed and recovered it because it was hazardous to other shipping."

The picture, showing lifeboatman Adam Dixon jumping into the water to secure a line around the debris, was taken by commanding Coxswain Rob Bendhiaf.

It is one of the more unusual tasks for the RNLI but they have been called out to deal with objects in the sea before.

In June they were called out to reports of a fridge-freezer floating in the sea.

Crew members from a DFDS Seaways ferry spotted the object 15 miles from Dover and the town lifeboat Severn-class City of London II was launched.

The lifeboat crew could not find the object.

But that incident prompted them to warn people never to dump objects into the sea as they could damage vessels in the world’s busiest shipping lane.