A boat went up in flames just as it was being launched into the water with fire crews called to extinguish the blaze.

The boat caught fire while on the slipway of Chichester Marina yesterday evening.

Crews from West Sussex Fire and Rescue tackled the blaze yesterday evening while coastguard teams also helped respond to the incident.

A spokeswoman for the fire service said: “Last night at 8.07pm we were called to a boat fire in Chichester Marina, Birdham.

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“Joint Fire Control mobilised two fire engines from Chichester, one from East Wittering, and one from Bognor to the scene.

The Argus: Fire crews and the coastguard responded to a boat fire yesterday evening“Upon arrival crews found a boat on fire on the slipway. Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus extinguished the fire using a high-pressure hose reel.

“Crews remained on scene damping down and used a thermal imaging camera to ensure there were no further hot spots.

“The crews left the scene around 11pm.”

A number of fire crews were seen attending the scene and dousing down the boat to ensure that the blaze was extinguished.

A coastguard spokeswoman added that two crews were sent to the blaze to “ensure the safety” of emergency service teams and members of the public in the marina.