SEVEN people were rescued from a boat between Brownsea Island and Sandbanks by Poole RNLI after it began to take on water.

A lifeboat crew from Poole RNLI rushed to the scene of a boat manned by seven people which was reported to have begun taking on water after a mayday call was received just after 1.30pm on August 3.

Tasked by the Coastguard, the crew found the stricken vehicle near Whitley Lake after it had begun to drift.

A spokesperson for Poole RNLI said: "Once alongside they checked everyone on board was okay (they were all wearing lifejackets), the vessel was taking on water with a visible amount of water in the bottom of the boat.

"The salvage pump was passed across with 3 crew members onto the vessel from the Atlantic and they began to pump out the water to try and stem the flow.

"Six of the seven people on board the vessel were transferred onto the North Haven Yacht Club water taxi that had responded to the initial Mayday and was standing by.

"The skipper remained on board, working alongside the lifeboat crew."

A decision was made to leave the vessel in shallow waters where it could not sink with an anchor put down to secure its position.

Once the vessel was secured, the skipper was taken to shore by the crew with the lifeboat returning to Poole lifeboat station at 4pm.