'Flying Vet' in plane crash drama

Maurice Kirk's plane went down off the north coast of the country

A former vet from south Wales who crashed into the ocean during a solo flight has been rescued near the Dominican Republic in the Atlantic.

Maurice Kirk, 62, from Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, issued a mayday call before his plane went down.

Rescuers said an emergency radio beacon may have saved the life of the man who calls himself the "Flying Vet".

Mr Kirk was expelled by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons for "disgraceful" conduct in 2002.

The vet, formerly of Rue Couches in St Martin's, Guernsey, was said to be stable after transfer to the nearby Turks and Caicos islands.

The crash happened about 75 miles north-west of the town of Puerto Plata and he was found by a United States coastguard helicopter which had tracked his emergency radio beacon.

Petty officer Nick Ameen, of the coastguard in Miami, Florida said: "Luckily he had that beacon on him. That was a really good decision on his part."

His expulsion as a vet allowed him more time for his flying passion and Mr Kirk began an attempt to fly solo around the world in 2001.

This was when he piloted his small Piper Club World War II plane from London to Sydney, Australia.

A former drinking friend of the late actor Oliver Reed, Mr Kirk has got into trouble before on his round-the-world trip.

According to his website, Kirk Flying Vet, he was injured when he crash-landed in Japan in 2005 after his engine lost power.