37 Rescued From Pleasure Boat

Passengers on board a pleasure cruise were rescued on Saturday after their boat ran aground near rocks.

In all, some 37 people were taken off the Solent Scene after it got into trouble near Old Harry Rocks in Dorset.

They were transported via lifeboat to a nearby passenger boat which took the shaken tourists back to land.

None of those involved required medical treatment.

The Solent Scene was taking passengers on a trip from Poole around Old Harry Rocks when it got stuck at around midday.

A team from Swanage Coastguard Rescue kept members of the public away from the edge of the rocks and transferred them to Bournemouth Belle before being taken to Swanage Pier.

The Solent Scene managed to re-float yesterday evening as the tide came in.

John Braisher, search and rescue co-ordinator at Portland Coastguard, said: "The skipper did all the right things by immediately calling the coastguard and asking for assistance.

"This was a great example of effective teamwork between ourselves, the RNLI and both passenger vessels to ensure the safety of all the passengers.''