A decommissioned lifeboat had to be towed to safety after losing power in the darkness.

Father and son Peter and Richard Hawkes on board the 26ft vessel Cormorant alerted Portland Coastguard on a mobile phone to say they had lost electrical power shortly before 6am yesterday.

The pair were taking the boat to Portsmouth for a friend when they got into difficulty.

A Coastguard spokesman said that without electricity the crew were unsure of their position and thought they were near West Bay.

The stricken vessel was actually near Sidmouth and was taken under tow by the Lyme Regis lifeboat before being handed over to the Exmouth lifeboat.