Norfolk coastguards were involved in the rescue of two men from the North Sea during the early hours of yesterday.The coastguard service worked closely with the RAF rescue helicopter to first evacuate a seriously injured man from a yacht sailing from Holland to Lowestoft.

Norfolk coastguards were involved in the rescue of two men from the North Sea during the early hours of yesterday.

The coastguard service worked closely with the RAF rescue helicopter to first evacuate a seriously injured man from a yacht sailing from Holland to Lowestoft.

Within an hour, the same crews were called out to rescue a 33-year-old British man injured on the Pride of Hull ferry sailing from Belgium to Hull.

The first rescue took place at about 12.20am when the 44-year-old Dutch skipper of the yacht, called Waikiki, suffered serious head wounds in a fall 40 miles off the Yarmouth coast. He was flown to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge.

At about 1.10am, the same crew was called to help the man injured on the Pride of Hull 30 miles off the coastline. He was drifting in and out of consciousness after suffering head and arm injuries, and was flown to the James Paget University Hospital at Gorleston.

Wayne Brunning. Yarmouth Coastguard watch manager, said: “We would like to thank the crew of rescue helicopter 125 and Gorleston Coastguard rescue team for ensuring these people were evacuated for treatment as quickly and safely as possible. While it is unusual to get two incidents of this type in quick succession, both incidents were dealt with as quickly and professionally as one would expect.”