Last week, Falmouth Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) coordinated the rescue of a fisherman who fell overboard his vessel.

His story serves as a stark reminder of the importance of a lifejacket and personal locator beacon when out at sea - as he used his PLB to light the way for the coastguard rescue.

The crew member of the fishing vessel Sidney Rose fell overboard off the coast of Bolt Tail, Devon on Friday (3rd).

At 11:25am, a mayday call was received from the fishing vessel the Sidney Rose.

The captain had awoken from his bunk to find a crew member missing, as well as a lifejacket with a PLB attached.

The search and rescue lifeboats and helicopter immediately began a search based on the movements of the fishing vessel alongside the PLB alert.

The Newquay helicopter crew located the fisherman within two minutes of searching – with the PLB all but lighting the way – with the Hope Cove lifeboat then arriving to pull a very grateful fisherman to safety.

Crucially, he had a lifejacket on as well as a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) attached to it; and the two key bits of safety equipment saved his life.

The fisherman spent more than an hour in the water but, thanks to his preparedness, was rescued safe and well, although very cold.

Following the rescue, Matt Rogers, Team Leader at MRCC Falmouth, said:

"He was unlucky to end up in the water at all, but he survived because he did everything right.

"He had a Personal Locator Beacon and a lifejacket and they were the key things that kept him safe until we were able to get to him.

"Our helicopter found him within about two minutes of arrival and we were quickly able to recover him. He was in the water for more than an hour so was understandably cold.

"But he was prepared and that kept him alive, we have a happy ending to what could so easily have turned into a tragedy.

"It is a perfect example of how important a lifejacket and PLB can be, the sea is a lonely and dangerous place if you aren't prepared."

The very cold man was then winched to the helicopter for onward transport to the hospital.

Click here to see more from the coastguard.

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