A INSHORE lifeboat crew from Sheerness went to the aid of three yachtsmen stranded on mud off Gillingham.

The inflatable lifeboat was launched at 1pm on Sunday. On arrival the crew found they had three separate mud incidents to cope with.

One yachtsman was still aboard the yacht, which had grounded. A second man, in a small dinghy, was trapped while trying to make for shore, while the third had made an unsuccessful bid to cross the mud on foot.

Firefighters were called to rescue the man in the dinghy while the lifeboat crew rescued the others. All the yachtsmen live in the Gillingham area.