This dramatic footage shows a sailor getting rescued after his yacht got caught in severe weather with strong winds and 20-foot high waves.

The lone sailor faced the harrowing ordeal as he got caught up in a storm some 14 miles off the north Devon coast, in South West England on 31st March.

The individual issued a ‘Pan Pan’ call, which alerted emergency services to their plight.

Volunteer crews from Appledore and Clovelly, along with a Coastguard helicopter from Newquay, were dispatched for the rescue operation.

Battling Gale Force 9 conditions and 20-foot-high waves, the rescue teams managed to tow the yacht, with torn sails, to the safety of Bideford Bay.