A FISHERMAN who died in an accident off the north Kent coast is believed to be a Weymouth man.

The body of a 21-year-old man wearing a buoyancy aid was recovered from the water in the area of Kentish Flats wind farm on Saturday.

Rescue crews said they attempted resuscitation to no avail.

A second man, believed to be the fishing boat skipper who also has links to Weymouth, was later found alive nearby.

Thames Coastguard received a call at 8pm on Saturday about a drifting unlit fishing vessel seven miles north of Herne Bay, Kent.

When they arrived, the 30-foot potting boat Lisa K was found without a crew which led to a search of the area by Whitstable, Sheerness and Margate RNLI lifeboats as well as the rescue helicopter from RAF Wattisham.

The body of a man was found in the water. The 25-year-old skipper was found alive on Sunday morning on one of the Red Sands Towers in the middle of the Thames Estuary.

He is believed to be the skipper of the boat and the only other crew member.

He was transferred to hospital by a rescue helicopter and assessed for hypothermia.

It is believed the Lisa K left Ramsgate on Saturday morning. The Lisa K is a potting boat which has been working out of Ramsgate for shell and crab fishing.

The rescued skipper reported that they had been on one of the Red Sands Towers which is nearly six miles from where the vessel was found drifting.

His crewman had gone into the water after their fishing vessel began drifting from the platform.

Whitstable lifeboat helmsman Dave Parry said: “After an extensive search by all three lifeboats and the helicopter, Thames Coastguard terminated the search at 12.50am and we transferred the body to the Sheerness lifeboat and returned to Whitstable.”

A spokesman for Kent Police said: “The body is that of a 21- year-old male who we believe to be from Weymouth. The body is yet to be formally identified. We think the skipper, a 25-year-old man, also has links to the Weymouth area.

“The family who are not from the Kent area have been informed and an inquest will take place next week.”