The director of a holiday company has thanked all involved in the rescue of five people whose boat sunk on the Broads.

They were in the midst of a two-week holiday when the bow of the boat struck the bank at St Olaves on Friday afternoon (September 16).

It had been hired from Herbert Woods Broads holiday company and the vessel was one of its largest - part of the Connoisseur fleet.

But when the distress call came in, director Mike Hogarth said their staff and crew sprung into action alongside the emergency services.

He said: "They were out on holiday and they are an experienced crew. They hire this boat from us every year.

"They have been coming on the Broads for about 20 years.

"But where the tides were very high, they didn’t see where the bank so when they manoeuvred to move out of the way of another private boat they collided with it.

"When a boat takes on water it makes everyone react very quickly and attend as fast as possible.

"It was an unfortunate event but the moment a report like that comes in our customers become our first and only priority.

"It was certainly a scary experience for them."

HM Coastguard, Hemsby Broads Rescue and an ambulance were called to the scene.

The passengers were quickly brought onto the safety of the river bank, by the Herbert Woods crew, and they were assessed by paramedics. But no injuries were reported.

The boat, which sunk with most of their belongings, currently remains in the water at St Olaves and it is due to be lifted on Tuesday, September 20.

Despite the ordeal, Mr Hogarth said the passengers were in "good spirits" and the company has since put them up in a holiday apartment to see out the rest of their holiday.

When the boat - which is half submerged on its side - is raised from the water their belongings will also be turned to them.

He said: "Everyone was fantastic.

"Herbert Woods has been going for nearly 100 years so we are very experienced.

"We have plenty of scrapes and bangs on the Broads but fortunately everyone was okay.

"We would like to thank the Broads authority and emergency services. It's a team effort when things like this happen."