A pilot had a lucky escape after he was forced to ditch his light aircraft in the Channel 10 miles off the coast of Dungeness.

The plane landed successfully on the water and the pilot managed to get out safely before it sank.

A nearby boat picked him after the incident, which happened at around 3pm Sunday.

He was taken to Ashford's William Harvey Hospital - but suffered nothing more than shock.

The RNLI lifeboat at Dungeness was one of the crews scrambled to the scene.

Deputy second coxswain Mark Richardson said: "We're normally pretty busy towing yachts and people around and this made a change and was something different."

Audio: Mark Richardson from the RNLI decribes the scene to kmfm

A survey vessel will now check whether the sunken plane poses a hazard to ships.