A retired fireman splashed out £60,000 on a new boat - then watched helplessly as it was wrecked by fire.

Trevor Herrington, 53, was off Littlehampton on Saturday afternoon when he noticed smoke billowing from the engine.

He was with partner Claire Haystead, 41, on the 40ft catamaran which the couple had bought the previous day.

The pair had to take to an inflatable life raft and call the Coastguard for help.

Within minutes they were rescued but could only watch as their prized possession was engulfed in flames.

The warship Cattistock arrived at the scene to help extinguish the fire but was unable to save the vessel.

The couple were sailing home to Ipswich after buying the catamaran at Southampton.

Trevor, a firefighter for 25 years, remained philosophical.

He said: "At the end of the day it's just a big lump of fibreglass with two engines. We were not hurt and that's the main thing.

"I have seen a lot of dead bodies throughout my career so it helps put things like this in perspective.

"I was pleased the inflatable raft worked, anyway. Usually they end up upside down but this one did us proud.

"I am hoping the insurance money will cover it. C'est la vie."

Ivan Greer, one of the Littlehampton RNLI crew involved in the rescue, said: "We rescued them and brought them back to Littlehampton.

"We then went back out to try to save the boat but I am afraid it had already burned down to the waterline."