Two inexperienced sailors were rescued after their boat's engine failed.

Wyke Coastguard Rescue Team was called just after 11am yesterday after a small fishing vessel was found adrift near the Shambles Bank off Portland.

It was brought in by the Ranges safety boat Smit Frome and met by coastguards.

There were two people on board who were described by the team as having "a severe lack of basic knowledge for the fishing trip they had undertaken."

A team spokesman said: "Safety equipment on board the recently purchased vessel was woefully lacking. This was combined with no VHF radio or navigational equipment.

"This was their first time at sea, a voyage that could of easily ended with a different outcome. The crew, even if they had the knowledge, without correct equipment had no way of raising the alarm, of knowing where they were or stopping the vessel drifting in the ever increasing northerly off-shore wind. Strong safety advice was given."