A North Yorkshire woman has hailed a lifeboat crew for risking their lives to save her and her fiancé after their boat became stricken and began taking on water during a storm in the North Sea.

Stephanie Simpson, of Sherburn-in-Elmet, said both her and her fiancé Steve were suffering seasickness caused by deteriorating weather conditions as they sailed from Lowestoft to Hull.

She said: “It was just atrocious and we were taking on water when the lifeboat arrived. The crew were fantastic – just outstanding. They were so kind and calm and made us feel such a lot better.

“It wasn’t until we were rescued that I found out the RNLI is a charity and the lifeboat crews are volunteers. They provide an incredible service and I’m convinced that without them, our story would have had a very different ending.”

Following the incident in October, Stephanie is encouraging people to take part in RNLI SOS day on Friday, January 28, to raise funds which will help the lifeboat volunteers carry on saving lives at sea.

For details about RNLI SOS day, visit rnli.org.uk/sos supporters