Falmouth coastguards have co-ordinated the rescue of a fisherman who fell overboard and was in the water for more than an hour.

Thankfully a search and rescue helicopter from Newquay found him in just two minutes after arriving on scene, and due to being prepared he was able to be rescued and stay alive.

Now coastguards have shared the story as a reminder of how important it is to have the right equipment, saying: "Even when you do everything right, it can still all go wrong when you are miles from shore with only a floating vessel between you and the deep blue sea."

The fisherman was one of the crew of the fishing vessel Sidney Rose.

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 as, despite being in the water for more than an hour, he was was rescued safe and well, although very cold.

Matt Rogers, team leader at Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre 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."

It was at 10.50am on Wednesday that the HM Coastguard was alerted to the activation of a PLB approximately seven nautical miles off the coast of Bolt Tail, Devon.

Plymouth and Salcombe RNLI lifeboats were launched, alongside Hope Cove Independent lifeboat and the search and rescue helicopter from Newquay.

At 11.25am, a Mayday call was received from the fishing vessel the Sidney Rose, with captain Ben reporting that one of his crew was missing. He had awoken from his bunk to find the crewman 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.

But more than an hour in the water took its toll and the very cold man was winched to the helicopter for onward transport to Derriford Hospital to check him over.