RNLI crews from Yarmouth and Lymington were able to get the blaze under control before it caused too much damaged

Lifeboats from Yarmouth and Lymington saved a classic wooden powerboat from the ravages of fire on Sunday afternoon.

The crew aboard the 28ft vessel made a Mayday call shortly after 3pm, reporting that a fire had broken out while travelling on the Lymington River.

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Several nearby vessels responded to the call before RNLI crews arrived on scene, transporting the two crew to another boat, while a line was put aboard to prevent the powerboat from becoming a hazard to others.

After ascertaining that the casualty vessel’s crew had been taken off and were unharmed, Lymington RNLI towed the powerboat into deeper water to enable crews from Yarmouth to tackle the blaze.

Once contained, the vessel was taken up the Lymington River to an isolated mooring, with Yarmouth RNLI continuing to provide fire watch astern.

An RNLI spokesperson said: “Two fire appliances and a senior officer from Hampshire Fire & Rescue Services attended at the lifeboat station slipway, their crews together with a plethora of fire fighting and salvage equipment being transferred to the mooring by the Lymington Harbour Commissioners workboat.

“From the mooring and assured that the fire was extinguished and no pollution risk existed, Yarmouth ALB took the vessel in an alongside tow with salvage pumps running through the crowded marina channel to Lymington Yacht Haven for immediate lift out and further fire investigation.

“Having completed its tow, Lymington lifeboat recovered the casualty vessel occupants from the original salvaging vessel and took them to the yacht haven to be reunited with their boat.”