Elderly sailor rescued after 45 days lost at sea but has bomb squad called

An elderly solo sailor was rescued from a vessel after it ran aground in the north-east of England, revealing, after setting foot on dry land, that he had been stranded at sea for 45 days. However, his troubles did not end there.

Armed police and an Army bomb disposal team were summoned to King Edward's Bay in Tynemouth on Wednesday evening following concerns about items discovered on the sailing boat.

The man, who was the only person on board, was assisted off by a lifeboat volunteer after two RNLI crews responded to reports of a vessel drifting perilously close to rocks around 8pm.

James Waters of the RNLI explained that they managed to get one crew member aboard the distressed vessel, who aided the sailor onto the lifeboat as it ran aground at the bay's southern end, where it remained anchored on Thursday morning.

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The RNLI stated: "A crew member from Tynemouth ILB was placed aboard the vessel to carry out an assessment. One person was found on board, who had reportedly been at sea for 45 days and was in need of medical assistance.

"With the vessel taking on water and pitching erratically with the sea conditions, the decision was made to extract the casualty from the vessel.

"Lifeboat crew cut away the guard rails for easier access and transferred the casualty on to the ILB."

Mr Waters commented: "Today's incident highlights the close working relationship between RNLI lifeboat crews and our partner agencies.

"Thanks to the swift response and team work between Tynemouth and Cullercoats lifeboats, Coastguard teams and the ambulance service, the casualty was brought safely ashore and received the medical attention they needed."

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency announced on Thursday: "At 7.56pm last night, HM Coastguard received reports of a sailing vessel with one person on board drifting towards rocks at King Edward's Bay, Tynemouth.

"Blyth Coastguard Rescue Team, Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade and RNLI lifeboats from Cullercoats and Tynemouth were sent.

"A person was rescued from the vessel by lifeboat and handed over to North East Ambulance Service.

"The grounded vessel has been secured."

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson confirmed: "We can confirm an Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team responded to the King Edward's Bay area of Tynemouth at the police's request where black powder was returned to EOD barracks."