Four desperate people stranded in a dinghy at sea used a home-made flag to get help.

The three men and one woman, suspected migrants, attached a red T-shirt to an oar and frantically waved it as a distress signal to a passing fishing boat.

The Iranians, who had been drifting at sea for two days, were plucked from their puny craft at 10.30am today as it ended up half-full of water.

The drama happened in the south-west end of the Goodwin Sands, off the St Margaret's-at-Cliffe area of the White Cliffs of Dover.

The rescue boat was the Dover-based charter fishing vessel the Royal Charlotte.

Skipper Matt Coker, 37, told Kent Online: "I was scanning the area with my binoculars and I could see the dinghy with, at first, two oars in the air.

"Then one of the oars was put down and came up again with a red T-shirt at the top. That oar was being waved and you could tell they were making a sign of distress.

"I think they used the T-shirt when they through we were only going to pass them.

"But we then changed course and went straight to them.

"When we reached them they were sitting in water, the dinghy was half full.

"I think they were afraid it would sink but it was inflatable."

The craft's outboard motor and petrol tank were missing and Mr Coker believes the occupants threw it out because of the fear of sinking.

Mr Coker said it had also been a dinghy for three people only. Writing on the craft had specifically said that.

The Iranians were brought onto the Royal Charlotte and aided swiftly because Mr Coker was helped by a party of 12 anglers.

When the four were safely on board Mr Coker tried to communicate with them.

He found they could speak no English but was able to get their ages, 27, 30, 35 and 37, by sign languages.

He explained: "I was able to guide them into holding up sets of fingers. One of the men seemed to understand that I was also trying to find out when they were from and so he kept saying "Iran."

"They also said they had been drifting for two days."

The four were given first aid, dry clothes offered by the anglers and hot tea but Mr Coker saw one of the men coughing blood.

He then decided to alert the coastguard to give the chance of full medical attention.

The Border Force arrived and the Iranians were taken onto one if its patrol vessels.

A Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokesman said: "The UK Coastguard was contacted this morning to report that an angling boat had come across a small inflatable boat with four people on board.

" The incident has been handed over to Border Force."