Firefighters spent an hour bailing out a sinking boat.

The owner of the 175-ton cruiser Welsh Conquest raised the alarm when he arrived at Brighton Marina at the weekend to find the moored vessel listing dangerously.

The old pleasure cruiser was damaged and had been leaking water for several months, according to a Coastguard spokesman.

He said: "The owner had an automatic pump on board which pumped out water when it got to a certain level.

"But it had malfunctioned overnight and the boat was sinking."

Crews from Roedean and Preston Circus fire stations used two pumps to empty the hull of the stricken vessel.

Leading firefighter Anthony Bush, from Roedean, said: "It is one of the more unusual call-outs I've been to.

"I'd say the vessel was about 15 to 30 minutes away from sinking. Another half metre and it would have filled up with water completely.

"It's quite an old boat and badly damaged."

The Coastguard spokesman added: "There is now a functioning pump on board and the owner will have to take some action to ensure this doesn't happen again."