Dover Lifeboat crew and a Belgian rescue helicopter were scrambled to rescue a man taken ill on board a dive ship off the Kent coast.

The lifeboat went to the ship, called Neptune, 16 miles east north east of Dover, following reports a man on board was suffering from symptoms akin to either a cardiac problem or a stroke.

While on their way, the Belgian Air Force Sea King helicopter set off, with two members of the helicopter crew later winched down to the boat.

The helicopter lifted the casualty off and took him to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital at Margate.