A FATHER and son have thanked coastguards and fellow fisherman for coming to their rescue when their boat sank.

Portland fishermen Adam and Ross Gould escaped with their lives when their 37-foot crabber Rowella started taking on water three-and-a-half miles off Lul-worth.

Six fishing boats answered their Mayday call and the pair were airlifted to safety by the Portland Coastguard rescue helicopter as their boat went down.

Mr Gould, 46, and his son are saying ‘a big thank you’ to both the Portland Coastguards and the fishing boats.

The father said: “They saved our lives.

“If they hadn’t come we would’ve been drifting around for I don’t know how long.

“So we want to say thank you.”

The pair, who live in Victoria Place, Easton, had gone out from their berth in Weymouth.

Mr Gould said: “We were pulling out crab pots and the next thing I noticed we were laying really heavy in the water.

“We went to the back and had a look and there was too much water down below to be able to pump it out.”

They made a mayday call and got the life-raft ready as they realised the boat could tip over.

Mr Gould added: “The water was coming in quite fast so we knew we didn’t have long to get off.”

The pair made it into the raft and saw their boat go over as they were airlifted to safety within minutes of the call.

The cause of the sinking on Friday, May 20, remains unknown.

The two fisherman are without a boat for their essential summer months and said their insurance company is still deciding whether to try and salvage the Rowella.