Man arrested in Rye after stolen boat runs aground

A man has been arrested in Rye after a stolen boat ran aground, according to the RNLI.
A man has been arrested in Rye after a stolen boat ran aground. Picture: Stuart ClarkA man has been arrested in Rye after a stolen boat ran aground. Picture: Stuart Clark
A man has been arrested in Rye after a stolen boat ran aground. Picture: Stuart Clark

In a joint statement from the RNLI and Sussex Police, they said that in the early hours of Friday, the coastguard was alerted by a member of the public that a vessel had run aground near to the lifeboat station at Dungeness, Kent.

The RNLI station in Littlestone was paged at 5am and arrived on the scene at 5.30 am, and the coastguard had arrived thirty minutes earlier.

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The boat was reported to be stolen, and police were subsequently called to attend Rye Harbour, where the vessel was recovered by the RNLI and the suspect was arrested, the statement said.

A man has been arrested in Rye after a stolen boat ran aground. Picture: Stuart ClarkA man has been arrested in Rye after a stolen boat ran aground. Picture: Stuart Clark
A man has been arrested in Rye after a stolen boat ran aground. Picture: Stuart Clark

After this, police received a separate report of a burglary: a bicycle was stolen from Simply Italian restaurant in Rye, the statement said. The bike was recovered and the suspect was also arrested for this offence.

"A 57-year-old man, of no fixed address, arrested on suspicion of theft and burglary, has been released on conditional bail until August 9 pending further enquiries," the statement said.

PC Rob Jennings, of the Hastings Neighbourhood Response Team, said: ‘Having been alerted to this incident by HM Coastguard, our officers swiftly attended Rye Harbour where the suspect was duly arrested.’

The owner of the boat, Mike Hodgson, said 'the RNLI was brilliant'.