The Gravesend lifeboat team rescued a boat which was stuck anchored in the River Thames yesterday morning (October 3).

The lifeboat was called out to a boat thought to have run aground at 11.45am, only to find the crew had deliberately anchored their vessel - and then got stuck.

The crew said they had anchored because their visibility was restricted by the localised fog patches.

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The boat's crew struggled to retrieve its anchor. Picture: Gravesend RNLI

They had thought this was the safest thing to do, and were just outside of the fairway.

The boat was then spotted and reported by passing commercial traffic.

It later became apparent that their anchor had fouled and they could not retrieve it after several attempts.

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The lifeboat crew tried to help to free the stuck anchor - but made no progress.

They eventually managed to cut the anchor chain.

The boat made its way back to shore at Gravesend, and the lifeboat was returned to station.

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