AN RNLI volunteer had to be rescued by his own crew after his yacht suffered engine failure yesterday evening (Monday).

Jamie Forrester and his friend and boat owning partner were approaching Dunbar Harbour shortly before 6pm after an afternoon sail with their families when the engine on their 26-foot yacht Kerry Girl failed to respond.

They managed to sail to a safe location to drop anchor but, when attempts to fix the problem failed, they had to call in help.

UK Coastguard called on the town’s RNLI crew at 6.15pm and they launched the inshore lifeboat (ILB) 10 minutes later.

They were quickly on scene, set up a tow and guided the yacht into the harbour and safely to its mooring.

The town’s coastguard were also called out during the incident but stood down shortly after 6.45pm.

A spokesman for Dunbar RNLI said: “Even with a well-maintained engine, incidents can happen but Jamie and his friend did the right thing by dropping anchor, making sure their yacht was in no immediate danger and requesting help.”

If you need assistance on the water, call 999 and ask for UK Coastguard.