by Graham Tutthill

Dover Lifeboat crew have spent several hours trying to save a converted fishing boat from sinking in Dover Harbour.

The alarm was first raised this morning when the boat, believed to have been built in 1940, started taking on water while in the English Channel off South Foreland.

The boat managed to get into the harbour but was in danger of sinking. Dover Lifeboat went alongside and the crew put a salvage pump on board.

But this was hardly able to cope with the amount of water getting into the boat, and another pump was taken out by Dover Harbour Board launch.

Both pumps, working together, have been able to keep the boat afloat, and attempts are expected to be made to bring the boat into a special berth at the marina. Investigations can then be carried out to find the extent of the problem.