A yacht owner told how he and his business partner narrowly escaped with their lives as flames engulfed his £50,000 vessel within seconds of a fire starting in the engine room.

David Moore and Keith Cox were saved by fellow seaman Martin Pooley who risked his own boat as he braved the flames to pull up alongside the burning 32ft Sirron off the coast near Rottingdean, Brighton.

Exploding fuel blew out the portholes from the engine room during the rescue and burst out across Mr Pooley's back a moment after he came alongside in his fast Searay sports boat, Spanish Decision, with his girlfriend.

As Mr Moore and Mr Cox jumped ship, up to 27 litres of diesel spewed out from ruptured fuel tanks which had been filled moments earlier and had burst in the heat.

The fuel ignited, engulfing the Sirron in flames.

Once the two men were aboard the rescue boat, Mr Pooley sped away to a safe distance before all turned to watch in dismay as the Sirron was quickly reduced to a wreck by the raging blaze.

Loud bangs were heard as gas cylinders ignited and rescue crews feared more could explode.

The Coastguard issued a half-mile exclusion zone around the stricken yacht for fear of an explosion.

Flames reached 15ft to 30ft and could be seen from as far afield as Seaford, Brighton and Shoreham.

Scores of onlookers along the coast and from other vessels watched as flames ripped through the hull of the Freeman 32 Mark II yacht on Friday.

For Mr Moore, the spectacle was far more galling.

The yacht had been his home for more than 20 years while it had been moored at Brighton Marina and was filled with irreplaceable personal belongings, including the barometer and compass he had planned to keep as sentimental heirlooms for the rest of his life.

He only managed to grab a few personal items such as his mobile phone before jumping ship.

Mr Moore has a home in Chislehurst, Kent, but had spent much of the past two decades living on the Sirron at Brighton Marina, where his commercial diving company Moore's Marine Maintenance, serviced the breakwater.

He regularly took Sirron cruising and made frequent day trips to France or diving for wrecks off the South Coast but, for the first time in more than 20 years, he was taking her to another mooring at St Catherine's Dock, London, after new contracts shifted his business interests to the capital.

He had spent £750 on repairs and servicing the vessel and filled up with £90 of diesel before setting a course bound for the River Thames.

Mr Moore said: "She can do 20-odd knots but we were cruising at about ten knots. I lifted the hatch and smoke just billowed out into the cabin.

"It was thick black acrid smoke and I couldn't see anything.

"We just got on this guy's boat and the flames went up.

"If we hadn't made the switch at that moment we would have caught fire and it would have exploded while we were on board."

The smouldering hull eventually sank at sea off the coast west of Rottingdean.

Mr Moore praised Mr Pooley, who had to tow a broken-down rescue craft home, for his actions.

Company owner Mr Moore planned to take the Sirron to France yesterday but instead had to make the journey by train.