Two men are in line for national awards after a daring rescue on the Sussex coast.

Erik Dalley and Carl Quin, from Bognor, rescued three men from drowning after their fishing boat sank near Felpham last year.

Now they have been named regional winners for the South in the annual Vodafone Life Savers Awards.

The pair must wait and see if their exploits will make the shortlist of ten national finalists who will meet the Prime Minister at Downing Street.

Mr Dalley and Mr Quin, both 31, were nominated by the Littlehampton Harbourmaster's Office for the rescue on the morning of Saturday, October 1.

Fishermen Tony Reed, Graham Halliday and Ivan Towse spent an hour in the water without lifejackets when their boat was sunk by a wave.

Mr Dalley heard their shouts from his flat on Canning Road, which overlooks Felpham Beach.

He recognised Mr Towse, before spotting Mr Reed and Mr Halliday further out.

He fetched his neighbour Mr Quin, who used Mr Dalley's windsurfer to reach Mr Reed.

Mr Dalley, wearing a wetsuit, used Mr Quin's kayak to tow Mr Halliday ashore, then returned to help Mr Quin.

Mr Towse had reached the shore himself when the coastguard lifeboat arrived.

All three were taken to hospital with slight hypothermia after their ordeal.

A spokesperson for the Life Saver Awards said: "The RNLI crew stated that without the prompt and effective intervention of Erik and Carl the three men would almost certainly have drowned.

"The sea and weather were extreme and it took exceptional resilience and persistence to complete the rescue, placing their own lives at risk in order to save others."

Mr Dalley told The Argus: "Both of us are really proud that we have done something that has been recognised. We're glad it worked out the way it did, especially because we know the people and they are local to Felpham."

If selected, Mr Dalley, operations manager at Dando Drilling at Littlehampton, and Mr Quin, a heating engineer, will be invited to an awards ceremony in London on November 1.

Judges at the prestigious event are set to include Falklands War veteran Simon Weston, model Nell McAndrew, actor Martin Kemp, TV personality Myleene Klass and the event's sponsors.