A yacht was towed to safety after breaking down at sea.

The boat had got into difficulties six miles south west of Shoreham at about 7.30am yesterday.

However, when the Shoreham RNLI lifeboat reached the scene there was no sign of the boat.

The crew eventually found the yacht with one person on board, 12 miles off the coast.

The boat had broken rigging and mechanical failure and was brought back to harbour.