Stranded vessel under tow

The vessel is nearly two miles off Montrose

A tug has come to the rescue of a cargo vessel which had lost steering power in the North Sea.

The Dutch vessel, Flinterland, hit trouble in a force eight gale shortly after leaving Montrose on Wednesday bound for Finland with a cargo of timber.

The ship, with eight crew on board, was nearly two miles off the coast of Montrose and had managed to drop anchor.

The Flinterland will now be escorted to Rosyth on the Firth of Forth to assess the damage.

A spokesman for Forth Coastguard said the crew were safe and the master of the ship was described as "happy".

Weather conditions when the vessel hit trouble were said to be poor with winds blowing at up to 40 knots.