Littlehampton Lifeboats in lifesaving mission

The canoeists, both in their 70s, were spotted at about 1.30pm in the water a mile south of Butlins, in Bognor, by a fishing boat.

Emma White, spokeswoman for the lifeboat station, said: "The fisherman was able to recover one of the casualties but in the choppy conditions was unable to locate the second; he then contacted the coastguard.

"The crew of Blue Peter 1 quickly located the missing man and administered the medical attention he urgently needed before handing him over to the care of paramedics."

The second man also needed medical treatment.

Lifeboat operations manager, Nick White, added: "Today it wasn't people rescued it was lives saved, a little longer in the water could have had a tragic outcome. A great job from the fisherman and our crew members".

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