Two men showed 'considerable initiative' to lead the rescue of a colleague who was clinging to a crab pot buoy in the North Sea this morning.

Fisheries officer Adrian Woods and fisherman Billy Davies were both at Cromer at 7.50am when Mr Woods noticed a crab boat with no-one on board, several hundreds metres off the east beach.

Mr Woods, a deputy coxswain of Cromer lifeboat, checked with binoculars and then helped Mr Davies relaunch his boat to investigate.

When they reached the boat, they called for lifeboat assistance and both the inshore and offshore boats were launched.

As they waited for help, they heard shouting from the west and saw a fishing colleague - who has not been named - hanging onto a crab pot buoy. They took their boat to him and pulled him onboard and take him to the beach.

The stricken fisherman had been pulled overboard by the tow or rope of the pots he was setting but was able to kick off his sea boots and take hold of the buoy. A yacht passing the scene had helped by passing him a lifebuoy.

The man was not injured, and his boat was towed ashore by another fisherman. The two lifeboats returned to their stations.

Lifeboat spokesman Peter Stibbons praised Mr Woods and Mr Davies for showing 'considerable initiative' and doing 'everything right'.