A man was left clinging for his life to a buoy for two hours in the dark before being rescued.

The RNLI lifeboat was called to the Medway Estuary after reports of cries for help in Halstow Creek just after midnight on Thursday.

The crew arrived on the scene at 12.30am and launched two flares to light up the area to help with their search. They discovered someone in a dinghy next to a mooring buoy where there was also someone in the water.

The good Samaritan had heard the man’s calls for help and found him holding on to a mooring buoy but was unable to get him out of the water so called 999.

RNLI helmsman Mark Tucker said: “We spotted a man in a small rib-type boat next to a mooring buoy, who we later learned had been alerted by a phone call saying that cries for help could be heard in the creek.

“The chap got into his boat and eventually located the casualty in the water where he was clinging to the buoy. Having found the man in the water the good Samaritan hadn’t been able to get him out and so hung onto him until we arrived on the scene.”

Lifeboat crew member Kris White jumped into the water to pull the man out, who they discovered had been in the creek for around two hours.

"It was a pitch black night and the water was extremely cold. The guy was in a bad way. He was so cold he looked blue" - crew member, Kris White

The 64-year-old man had transferred from his yacht moored in Halstow Creek to a dinghy which then capsized, leaving him in the perilously cold water alone at night.

Mr White said: “It was a pitch black night and the water was extremely cold. The guy was in a bad way. He was so cold he looked blue.

“We think he had been in the water for two hours. He was lucky he’d been spotted and help came.

“I don’t know how much longer he could have held on if he’d been alone but the fact that he was wearing his life jacket undoubtedly saved his life because apart from the extreme cold there was a very strong tide running which would have been impossible to swim against.”

He added: “This incident goes to show how quickly and unexpectedly things can go wrong, even in a sheltered creek. We’d urge everyone to carry a waterproof means of communication, whether that’s a radio, a mobile phone in a protective pouch or even flares, so that if they find themselves in a similar situation they can call for help.”

Once back on dry land, the casualty was handed over to waiting paramedics for treatment and later taken to Medway Maritime Hospital. It is not thought the man’s condition was life threatening.