A struggling boat owner was rescued from his sinking boat – by the pyjama-clad chairman of Whitehaven’s rugby league team.

Tom Todd, 63, of Whitehaven RLFC, was up to his neck in the sea, off Braystones Beach, as he pulled the distressed man back to shore.

A strong wave had cracked Lester Henson’s boat, causing water to rush in, when Mr Todd and his partner spotted he was in trouble and waded in.

They had been at home when they saw the emergency unfolding – and decided to race to the man’s rescue.

“I saw my neighbour, who is an elderly gentleman, launching a fishing boat, and his son was in it,” said Mr Todd.

“I could see he had trouble starting the engine but then it must have rolled up on a wave and slammed down because the fibreglass cracked and it started to fill with water.

“Fortunately he wasn’t right out at sea but I was concerned.”

The club chairman, who lives at Braystones, and his partner Robert Bolan ran down to the beach and into the sea at about 10am.

“I was still in my pyjamas at the time,” he said.

“Me and Robert ran down to the beach and waded in; it was cold but we managed to help level the boat and moved it nearer to the beach.

“We were worried, he looked in distress. He was struggling with the weight of the boat.

“It was a neighbour, it’s just what you do – even my dog was swimming in to help.”

Mr Todd’s neighbour Jack Henson, Lester’s father, had helped his son launch the boat and was leaving the beach when the incident happened.

He said: “Everyone came running down to the rescue. We’d just built the boat, a wave caught it and cracked the back which let water in.

“I had taken it down with a tractor, and I was setting off back when I saw it go up and bang down. We found out the wooden back had rotted and the fibreglass cracked – we’ve stripped it out and pumped the water out. We’re going to put a new back on it.”

Ian Parker, a dog walker who was passing by, said: “As I approached two guys ran from a house and started wading in, the shorter one was almost up to his neck and helped rescue the chap. They also helped pull his boat back to shore. They seemed to have the situation under control as I passed. It all seemed a very selfless act and there was no delay in getting into the water to help.”