A teenager watched in horror as his father fell out of a dinghy into the sea and was caught by the propeller of their boat.

Alan Farra, 40, of Warwick Road, Clacton, was on a pleasure trip with his 18-year-old son.

He fell overboard and received injuries to his head, arm and leg from the propeller of the outboard engine.

Mr Farra managed to climb back on board the inflatable dinghy and contacted Thames Coastguards at Walton on his mobile phone to tell them what had happened and call for help.

Rob Gradon, watch officer at the coastguard station, said the incident happened off Jaywick at about 3.30pm yesterday.

"The man managed to call us on 999 and both he and his son were in a state of shock," he said.

"Clacton's Atlantic 75 lifeboat was launched and went out to them while members of the Clacton Coastguard rescue team headed to the scene.

"The lifeboat crew managed to transfer Mr Farra from the dinghy to the shore where he was taken to hospital by the Essex Air Ambulance which was standing by."

Mr Farra was taken to Colchester General Hospital but discharged after treatment. Mr Gradon said that the son stayed on board the dinghy while his father was rescued.

The boat was then towed to safety by a local fishing vessel, the Clara Belle. The whole incident was co-ordinated by the coastguards at Walton.

Mr Gradon added: "When we first got the call it was feared that Mr Farra's injuries were serious but we got the impression that they were not as bad as they might have been."

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.