A 10m yacht had to be escorted back into Lowestoft after suffering electrical failure out at sea.

The vessel, which had two people on board, sent out a distress call to the coastguard at 11.30pm on Sunday night.

A lifeboat from Lowestoft was launched and escorted the yacht back into the harbour, arriving at 2.45am yesterday (Monday).

Lowestoft Lifeboat, deputy second coxswain, Nigel Lyman said: 'We were called at 11.30pm on November 13 to go to the aid of a 10-metre long yacht called Invisible Touch that had suffered electrical failure.

'Although they still had engine power they had lost their navigation lights together with their VHF radio communications. Fortunately they were in range of a mobile phone signal and used that to summon help.

'When we reached the two-man crew on the vessel, which was five miles off Lowestoft close to the Holm Sands East Cardinal Buoy, we put one of our volunteer crew with a handheld radio onto the yacht to provide communications.'

He added: 'We escorted the vessel back to the Royal Norfolk & Suffolk Yacht Basin in Lowestoft arriving there at 2.45am.

'The yachtsmen told us that they had left Scarborough at 2am on Sunday morning – so it had been a long and exhausting trip down the east coast for them before they lost the electrics and they were very grateful to be safely tied up in port.'

Both people on board were safe and well, a coastguard spokesman said.