Douglas RNLI helped tow a fishing boat, which suffered an engine failure, back to safety yesterday (September 8).

The volunteer crew were paged at 10.04am to aid a 9metre vessel with two people on board who had left Douglas early that morning for a fishing trip.

At approximately 10am the two people experienced an engine failure about four miles east of Douglas.

It is suspected that the engine had overheated due to a blocked coolant inlet, which led to them calling the Coastguard by VHF radio for assistance.

Coxswain Graeme Cushine took the all-weather lifeboat - Marine Engineer - out of the harbour during the slightly drizzly conditions, which hampered visibility.

The RNLI crew reached the fishing boat at 10.44am and ensured that the two people on board did not need any immediate attention before towing the boat back to a berth on Battery Pier where the Castletown Coastguard were waiting to assist.

The crew later returned to the station to prepare for the next callout.