Lifeboats were launched to rescue two people caught off the Norfolk coast after attempting to travel from Grimsby to Great Yarmouth in rough seas. 

The crew at Caister-on-Sea were paged just after 3pm on Thursday to reports of a boat in difficulty five nautical miles east of Waxham.

The all-weather lifeboat - Bernard Matthews ll - was launched amid waves of two metres in height and arrived on scene by 3.45pm

Great Yarmouth Mercury: A photograph taken from the lifeboat showing the boat being towed to safetyA photograph taken from the lifeboat showing the boat being towed to safety (Image: Caister Lifeboat)A lifeboat crew member went aboard the vessel to assess the pair and set up a line for the boat to be towed into Great Yarmouth. 

However, during the tow back, one of the casualties became nauseous and increasingly lethargic and unresponsive.

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The decision was made to launch the inshore lifeboat so that the pair could be taken straight back to the Caister lifeboat station where paramedics were waiting. 

A spokesman for the East of England Ambulance Service said: “We were called just after 4.45pm with reports that a man needed medical attention at Caister Lifeboat Station after becoming unwell while at sea.

"An ambulance was sent to the scene and assessed the man, who did not require transportation to hospital.”

The all-weather lifeboat towed the cruiser to Great Yarmouth where it was moored in the harbour.