A BROKEN-DOWN pleasure yacht was towed to shore just minutes before a violent storm battered the county.

Littlehampton RNLI launched the lifeboat at 8.11pm on Monday, arriving at the 28ft vessel in just 21 minutes.

Thunder was rolling in from the south and lighting lit up the rough seas as the crew towed the yacht to Littlehampton Yacht Club, arriving minutes before torrential rain swept in.

Nick White, Littlehampton RNLI’s lifeboat operations manager, said: “Being stuck on a broken-down boat in a thunderstorm would not have been a pleasant experience, so we are pleased that we were able to tow the vessel to safety, just in time.

“Our volunteer crew are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, ready to help those in trouble in local waters – whatever the weather.”

Littlehampton RNLI looks after the West Sussex coastline between Bognor and Worthing.

It was the station’s Atlantic 85 rigid-inflatable boat, Renee Sherman, that was chosen to complete the three-mile rescue journey.