A harbour master was sacked after he took an overloaded boat of sightseers out to sea.

Colin Hitchcock told colleagues there was no risk of anyone falling from the jam-packed boat - despite having tumbled off himself just a month previously.

He was blasted for putting members of the public at “serious risk” as none of them were wearing lifejackets.

Mr Hitchcock - the harbour master at Littlehampton for nine years - took the ten people, including himself and his partner, out on the overloaded boat on August 6, 2009.

The boat, called Windsong, was only suitable for six people but he took it up the River Arun to Arundel without telling his harbour colleagues.

He was sacked by Littlehampton Harbour Board and took his case to an employment tribunal saying he had been unfairly dismissed.

But the tribunal panel rejected his claim, saying his sacking for misconduct was fair.