A MAN in Kent helped save the crew of a yacht as it sank thousand of miles away in Central America.

Paul Wilkin, who lives near Folkestone, received an alert call from his friend Jack Crofton, who was sailing off Panama about 5,000 miles away.

Mr Crofton had picked up a mayday call from another vessel but couldn't reach local coastguards.

So he rang Mr Wilkin, of Ottinge, near Elham, who in turn contacted Dover Coastguard. That led to their Panama counterparts being scrambled.

Mr Wilkin, an ex-Royal Navy diver, said: "I was obviously very surprised to get the call.

"But Jack gave me the longitude and latitude of the yacht in trouble so I was able to relay the message to our coastguards."

The yacht got into distress off the Panama Canal on Saturday. The three-man crew clambered onto a reef but their vessel sank.

For the full story read this Wednesday's Kentish Express.