The French sailing boat P'tit Mouse was taking on water outside of Littlehampton harbour when it put out a call for help.

Littlehampton's inshore lifeboat responded but the crew had difficulties with their pump on board so Shoreham's offshore lifeboat was launched.

Chris Bunby, lifeboat operations manager at Shoreham, said: "Littlehampton were already tasked to this vessel but they called us in for extra support, as it was quite a tricky rescue.

"Once Shoreham's lifeboat was on scene we attempted to pass alongside the P'tit Mouse so we could use our main suction hose to remove the water she had taken on. However, the conditions were such that this was not possible.

"Instead, we transferred two of our volunteer crew members onto Littlehampton's inshore lifeboat with our salvage pump.

"Their boat was able to get up close to the yacht and transfer the crew. Once onboard, our crew members quickly pumped out the water and Littlehampton's inshore lifeboat guided them back to the harbour."

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