A SAILOR was rescued after falling over the side of his boat in the moorings at Burnham.

Burnham RNLI’s lifeboat was sent out to retrieve a runaway boat after the lone sailor was saved by an Essex Marina work boat.

The drama happened on September 20 at 5.13pm

The RNLI crew retrieve the boat which they found on the south shore opposite the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club.

The boat was lodged in one of the sea wall breaches – a wall designed to break the force of the waves.

Meanwhile, the sailor was treated ashore by the ambulance service at the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club who assisted the casualty with the use of their shower facilities to warm him up after his ordeal.

A spokesman for the RNLI said: “With a falling tide and the wind pushing the casualty vessel further in, the RNLI volunteers gently nudged their way through, despite there being very little water beneath them,

“They then placed a crew member on board to set up a tow.

“They turned the casualty vessel around and withdrew as quickly as possible to avoid the possibility of grounding themselves.”

The spokesman said the boat was successfully towed into Burnham Yacht Harbour where the RNLI volunteers made it safe for the owner’s return.