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Man and dog rescued after three days in dinghy

Craig Buchan
BBC News, South East
Eddie Mitchell An orange RNLI lifeboat is pulled towards a quay. Between the lifeboat and the dock is a man in a dinghy wearing an orange lifejacket. There are three people and a small dog on the shore.Eddie Mitchell
A man and a dog are believed to have spent three days at sea in an inflatable dinghy before being rescued

A man and a dog, believed to have spent three days at sea in an inflatable dinghy, have been rescued off the coast of East Sussex.

A lifeboat crew picked up the pair between Brighton Marina and Brighton Palace Pier on Wednesday.

The man, believed to be a migrant that had attempted to cross the English Channel, was heard telling rescuers he found the dog in a French refugee camp.

Emergency services launched a rescue operation after a red flare was spotted at about 18:30 BST.

The man, who is thought to be from Afghanistan, and the dog were taken ashore about an hour later.

It is believed they had been drifting for three days in the dinghy after its engine failed.

Eddie Mitchell An orange RNLI lifeboat with three crew members, one of which is steering the vessel. A small dinghy with a man in an orange lifejacket is alongside.Eddie Mitchell
The man, who is thought to be from Afghanistan, and the dog were taken ashore by a lifeboat crew

A HM Coastguard spokesperson said the man was located "safe and well" in a vessel that had reportedly experienced engine issues.

A coastguard helicopter, lifeboats from Shoreham and Brighton, and coastguard rescue teams from Shoreham and Newhaven were deployed to the incident, they added.

Sussex Police said it had assisted HM Coastguard during the incident and that the man and the dog were passed to Border Force officials.

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