LIFEBOAT crews launched to rescue a yacht after it became stranded in a busy shipping channel.

The 28ft yacht broke down in the shipping lane, outside Portsmouth Harbour.

It was rescued by a crew from Gosport and Fareham Inshore Rescue Service (GAFIRS), who raced to the scene around 8.30am on Saturday.

The crew safely took the yacht back to its mooring in Gosport.

The incident was one of four that GAFIRS were called to this weekend - including a 40ft catamaran which became stuck on a buoy near the Isle of Wight.

Crews again raced to the incident, near Osbourne Bay at around 4pm on Sunday.

The skipper had attempted to free the 40ft vessel but was unable to.

A GAFIRS crewman managed to manhandle the vessel free and it was able to safely make its onward passage.

However, as the lifeboat was returning to station, a distress call was issued by a 21ft power boat near Fishbourne.

It had also suffered engine failure and the lifeboat towed it back to Camber Dock, Portsmouth.

GAFIRS also rescued a yacht near Cams Hall Golf Club after it lost power Crews located the vessel and placed it in an alongside tow.

With the help of Hill Head Coastguard Rescue Team, it was returned safely to its berth at Royal Clarence Marina.

GAFIRS coxswain Mike Allen said: “It was a busy weekend on the water in the Solent and when the sun is out and traffic increases, so too does our workload.

“This weekend shows the benefit of conducting regular patrols of our local area, as it means we are quite often in the right place at the right time and able to offer a prompt response to those requiring assistance.

“I’d like to thank our volunteers who have worked incredibly hard this weekend on call outs to keep our local waters safe.”

GAFIRS is an independent lifeboat station, which is not part of the RNLI.

Its volunteer crews are on call to the UK Coastguard 24 hours a day.