A yacht with two people on board had to be towed to safety after getting in to trouble off Margate.

Lifeboat crews rushed to sea to rescue the disabled vessel yesterday after it came to halt in busy shipping lanes.

Margate RNLI came to the aid of a yacht off the north Kent coast after a lack of wind resulted in its crew raising the alarm.

They contacted UK Coastguard around 2pm on Saturday reporting that they were experiencing machinery problems and couldn't move through in benign weather conditions in the Princes Channel around five miles north west of Margate.

The yacht’s crew requested assistance and Margate’s RNLI all-weather lifeboat was tasked to assist.

The lifeboat located the yacht with the assistance of Port of London Authority’s radar coverage of the estuary.

Once it was established that the crew of the yacht were safe and well, the vessel was taken under tow to the safety of Ramsgate harbour.

Nick Smith, deputy launching authority, Margate Lifeboat said: "The yacht was disabled and becalmed in busy shipping lanes and asking for assistance at an early stage was a prudent course of action which avoided the situation developing into what could have been a more complex operation perhaps in the dark.

"We urge people to talk to the coastguard at an early stage in these situations."