An elderly woman was taken to hospital after Coastguard crews were called out to a medical emergency on board a ferry.

The Kimmeridge and Swanage Coastguard teams were paged to the incident on board the Purbeck Gem passenger ferry out of Poole, operated by Greenslade Pleasure Boats.

The woman had become unwell and briefly passed out on the ferry’s return journey along the River Frome near Wareham towards Poole.

The boat's skipper had immediately called HM Coastguard by radio and moored up at Ridge Wharf Marina in response, so the vessel was accessible to emergency services.

Because of another incident in Wareham, ambulance services were delayed arriving to the scene.

A spokesperson for Kimmeridge Coastguard said: “The team checked the person over and thankfully on our arrival was recovering well and in good spirits.”

When the ambulance arrived the female passenger was checked again, and then her and her friends were helped off the boat into the ambulance and taken to Poole Hospital.

With concerns about the falling tide, the Purbeck Gem then returned filled with passengers to Poole Quay and Coastguard teams returned to their bases.

The Coastguard were called out to the incident at 1pm on Thursday.

Fiona Cope, director of Greenslade Pleasure Boats, said: "Our whole team at Greenslade Pleasure Boats are extremely proud of the crew on board the vessel for their professionalism during the medical emergency yesterday.

"Jack Greenslade and Gavin Hart were the crew on board. Jack is a member of the family and he and Gavin have been friends since school, so they are a brilliant team together."

The spokesperson for Kimmeridge Coastguard said: “Many thanks to the boat crew for their assistance and to all the passengers for their patience and understanding. We wish the person a speedy recovery.”