A supply vessel, which was in collision with a gas platform off the Norfolk coast at the weekend, was involved in further drama after it caught fire in Lowestoft during repair work.

The Vos Raasay supply vessel, pictured here during repairs in Lowestoft docks on Tuesday, sparked another emergency call-out at 12.40pm yesterday (Thursday) following a small fire in the ship's store room.

Eight fire crews – including two crews from Lowestoft South, one from North Lowestoft, two crews from Great Yarmouth, two crews from Beccles, and a crew from Southwold – were called to Commercial Road, following reports from Port Authority that the ship had caught fire while undergoing welding repair work.

A brigade spokesman said the 'small fire' affected the storeroom of the ship docked at North Quay in Lowestoft, but the blaze was out by the time firefighters arrived.

After an inspection of the vessel, one member of the ship's crew was taken to hospital for treatment for light smoke inhalation. Firefighters used a thermal imaging camera to check the fire had not spread before leaving the scene at around 1.30pm.

The Lowestoft and Southwold Coastguard rescue teams and the East of England Ambulance also attended the scene.

This latest drama came after workers on a gas platform off the Norfolk coast, at Cromer, were rescued after a boat hit the offshore structure.

The masts of the Vos Raasay supply vessel hit a bridge of the gas platform, about 19 miles off Cromer, at 9.30am on Sunday.

A Humber Coastguard spokesman said 40 people were airlifted by a helicopter as a precaution and no-one was injured.

The supply boat was taken to Lowestoft for minor repairs, prior to yesterday's emergency call-out.