A four-person yacht left stranded after colliding with a large shingle bank off the Isle of Wight's northwest coast prompted an emergency response yesterday (Saturday).

Yarmouth RNLI was alerted shortly before 5.30pm to a 40ft sailing yacht three-and-a-half nautical miles west of Yarmouth Harbour, which had collided with a large shingle bank in the Solent and was stranded, unable to re-float.

The volunteer RNLI crew were quickly on the scene and assessed the situation to see if the vessel had been damaged after running aground.

As it was nearing low tide and would take a couple of hours for the tide to turn and start flooding, which would have helped the vessel re-float naturally, the decision was made for Yarmouth RNLI to return to the station.

The lifeboat would re-launch at a later time and return in the chance the casualty vessel required further assistance

Whilst at the station, the vessel re-floated without suffering damage and continued her journey unaided.