A man has been rescued while trying to sail from Britain to Ireland in an inflatable dinghy. He was spotted off the coast of Dorset yesterday in the 6-foot beach inflatable but initially insisted he did not need any assistance.

The UK coastguard service says it was initially contacted at 3pm yesterday by the crew of a boat who had seen the man in his inflatable dinghy almost 3 nautical miles off the coast of Dorset.

The man had two paddles one of which he had strapped a plastic sheet to as a sail - the other was being used as a rudder to steer the dinghy.

The emergency services broadcast a message for other boats on the water to provide further information. A dive vessel in the area approached the dinghy and found the man who said he was sailing to Ireland had food and water on board and insisted he did not need any help or rescue and he continued on his ambitious journey.

However after finishing its diving mission the crew of the boat caught up the man again and brought him on board. He was returned to shore where he was treated for very severe sunburn.

Portland coast guard service is warning other would be adventurers to never take the water in such an unsuitable craft and to always have proper communications and safety equipment on board.

John Braisher is Watch Officer at Portland Coastguard "This man was extremely lucky to be found when he was. With no suitable communications equipment, limited life saving equipment and inadequate food and drink resources for his passage to Ireland, the outcome could have been very different" he said.

"Inflatable dinghies, such as this, are unsuitable and not recommended for coastal passages of this nature" he added.