Two men had to be rescued from a 28ft boat after it came close to exploding.
The two men, in their 30s and from Newcastle, were travelling to Brighton Marina from Emerald Quay, Shoreham, on the motorcruiser "Little Legs" when smoke started coming from the engine around 4pm yesterday.
One of the men opened the engine compartment to find a small fire on board which RNLI crews later said was likely to have exploded if left.
Another vessel came to help the men who by this time had drifted to around one mile south of Ferry Road, Shoreham, but were warned by Solent Coastguard to stand clear because of the risk of an explosion.
Both men were able to put the fire out using a fire extinguisher and lifeboat crews from Shoreham towed them back to Emerald Quay.
Nobody was injured and the motor cruiser suffered only minor damage.
Dave Cassan, spokesman for Shoreham RNLI said: "They were very lucky it didn't explode because it could have been very similar to the boats which burst into flames at Brighton Marina."
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