Two people aboard a 36ft Legend were saved after a Mayday call in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The yacht, Summer Song, ran aground at Peveril Ledge near Swanage, Dorset, and was holed.

It is understood that the yacht’s skipper, a man in his 60s, had been instructing his companion, a woman in her 40s, in night-sailing when his boat hit the rocks.

Portland Coastguard responded to the Mayday and the RNLI‘s Swanage all-weather and inshore lifeboats both launched.

The pair were taken ashore and checked by paramedics. It is thought one of them sustained a minor back injury in the collision but was given the all-clear.

The lifeboats returned to the scene but were unable to safely get anyone aboard the yacht to secure a line. At daybreak it became clear that the yacht was badly holed and the couple had to watch as she sank. By 0930 the boat was completely submerged.

For more details: www.rnli.org.uk