A dramatic sea rescue on Saturday was delayed as coastguards had to recruit locals to help remove a section of the fence on Mistley Quay, Essex.

Coastguards were called to the quay at around 4.30pm on Saturday afternoon and used bolt cutters to cut away a section of the fence on Mistley Quay. But they were unable to lift it out of its fixings without the aid of two local residents.

The lifeboat was then able to safely land four adults on the quay, where an ambulance was waiting. The sailors had got into trouble when their borrowed dinghy capsized in deep water off the quay.

'Thankfully this time they looked to be very distressed and cold but not seriously injured,' said local resident Derek Bell, who was one of those called to help the coastguard. 'But what worries me is that the coastguards couldn't get that fence panel out without our help. What if no-one had been around? Every minute can count in a situation like this.

'Ever since the fence went up a year ago we have said it was an accident waiting to happen and now it has.'

'Michael Parker should be ashamed of himself, putting people's lives at risk like this,' added resident Val Saxby. 'What if someone had a stroke out there? Because of this fence there would be absolutely nothing we could do about it.'

Residents are planning to protest outside TW Logistics offices on Monday morning.