A BOAT crew member thought to have a broken leg was rescued at sea during a five hour operation involving two Dutch warships.

The volunteer crew of Eastbourne RNLI's inshore lifeboat were called out to aid a fishing trawler with the injured man on-board in the early hours this morning at around 1.30am.

The Coastguard helicopter was also called out to help, but conditions were too bad for the helicopter to cope.

A spokesman for Eastbourne RNLI said that there was a four metre swell so the rescue operation was “a bit of a challenge”.

Two Dutch warships located nearby came to their aid and tried to help block the strong wind.

After hours at sea the lifeboat and the trawler returned to shore with the injured man aboard, who was then taken to hospital by ambulance.

The rescue operation ended at around 6.30am with no other injuries reported.