A SEVEN-HOUR rescue operation by Dover Lifeboat crews ended with a a three-masted tall ship, with 14 crew on board, being towed back to Dover after drifting dangerously near the Goodwin Sands.

The Oosterschelde, a 350 tonne yacht, built in 1918, made an emergency call to Dover Coastguard at 5.30am on Tuesday after her engines failed.

The ship was already near the East Goodwin marker buoy, which marks the Goodwin Sands.

Dover Lifeboat was immediately dispatched and reached the Oosterschelde in 40 minutes.

A spokesman for Dover Coastguard said that at first it was thought the ship could reach Dover under her own steam. It later became apparent that she would have to be towed.

A towing line was attached to the yacht around 7am. The lifeboat and the yacht only reached the Western arm of Dover outer harbour at midday on Tuesday.

The yacht is a training ship and some of the crew were trainees. The Oosterschelde was en-route from Dover to Cannes, in southern France, before her engines failed.