Man missing after trawler sinks

Three lifeboats were involved in the search

A search for a fisherman missing after a trawler sank off the west Wales coast has been called off.

One of the two crew members aboard the Pamela S was found alive after spending about 11 hours in the sea and swimming more than three miles to shore.

The alarm was raised at 0030 BST on Sunday when the men did not return when expected to Lydstep, Pembrokeshire.

The boat is believed to have sunk in Carmarthen Bay at about 1430 BST on Saturday.

The 31-year-old fisherman found alive at 0245 BST on Sunday spent up to 11 hours in the water before reaching Pendine beach after the trawler sank three-and-a-half miles out to sea.

Coastguard watch officer Julie Wood said: "It was a remarkable feat of human courage and endurance.

"Even at this time of year...it's still quite icy.

"To survive for 10 hours wearing just a T shirt and light trousers is incredible."

She added: "The tide was with him when he started his swim ashore, but it turned and that would have made it even more difficult to reach the beach.

One of the fishermen was able to reach Pendine beach

"But even then his ordeal wasn't over because the tide was out by then and he had to drag himself up the sand."

After he was found in the early hours of Sunday, the man was taken to the West Wales General Hospital at Carmarthen suffering from hypothermia.

A search continued for the second fisherman but was called off on Sunday evening.

Dyfed-Powys Police said both men are from the Pembroke Dock area.

Three RNLI lifeboats from Tenby were out searching all night and the missing fishing boat was found sunk on the seabed a few miles off Pendine beach.

An RAF rescue helicopter from Chivenor in Devon was also involved in the search.

An inquiry has been launched by the Marine Accident Investigation Board.