Rescue crews battled huge waves and harsh winds as they fought to rescue an injured fisherman.

The Weymouth RNLI all-weather lifeboat was launched at 6.30am this morning (December 13) after it was reported a crew member on an Irish fishing boat had become injured.

The fishing boat was located approximately 12 miles south west of Portland Bill.

The Coastguard helicopter had also been called out to aid the same vessel.

Despite battling wind and waves, the coastguard team managed to get a paramedic winchman onto the fishing boat to treat the injured man.

However, due to the severity of the sea and wind conditions, with gale force winds blowing and swells of up to four metres, the team were unable to get the causality off the fishing boast and up into the helicopter.

Once the lifeboat was at the scene, it became apparent that the only option to get the casualty to safety, would be to transfer them and the winchman onto the lifeboat and from there up into the helicopter.

A spokesman for Weymouth RNLI said: "This is something that is practised a lot in training and is quite common in many shouts that the volunteer lifeboat crew deal with.

"Due to the large swell running and the force eight south south east wind, on this occasion it was a particularly challenging manoeuvre."

However, the spokesman said the crew managed to transfer the casualty without too much difficulty - despite the weather.

With the causality on the helicopter and safely on their way to hospital the lifeboat returned to Weymouth Harbour arriving just after 10am.