A man believed to have swum out to sea from Langdon Bay was rescued by Dover Lifeboat crew after nearly being run over by a cross-Channel ferry.

The lifeboat was on its way to another emergency call when a man was seen swimming near the end of the Eastern Arm, close to the entrance to Dover Harbour.

The lifeboat and harbour patrol launch went to the scene and the lifeboat crew pulled him from the water. He was cold but uninjured.

Lifeboat Coxswain Stuart Richardson said: "This man was incredibly lucky that the lifeboat and Harbour Patrol Launch were already at sea going to the other incident. It meant we were on the scene within minutes and that he was recovered from the water very quickly. It was miraculous that he was not run down and killed by a ferry."

The call the lifeboat crew were responding to was a cross-Channel ferry where alarms indicated a suspected engine room fire.

The ferry was able to berth safely in Dover where it was found that there was no fire but a sensor had detected overheating in some onboard machinery.