The man, who has not been named, is thought to have fallen from the last rung of a ladder and into the icy cold water of the North Sea between his boat and a pilot ship.

But the crew of the pilot boat, which was called the Greatham, quickly rescued him from the water before he became trapped between the two vessels.

He suffered a cut to the head and was taken to Tees Dock by the Greatham where an ambulance was waiting to take him to James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough.

The dramatic rescue happened at around 2.50am when two Hartlepool RNLI lifeboats were launched to reports from Humber Coastguard that a man was overboard.

A Coastguard spokesman said: "Off Hartlepool, on the approaches coming into the Tees Port, a man fell into the water.

"He was in the water for a very short time and was lucky to get aboard a boat so quickly, but the lifeboats were there to assist in any way they could."

Hartlepool RNLI coxswain Robbie Maiden praised the actions of the Greatham's skipper in recovering the casualty in what he described as "difficult conditions".

Mike Craddy, Hartlepool RNLI lifeboat operations manager, added: "This is probably the worst scenario a pilot can face.

"We are really pleased that the service ended on a good note, and hope the pilot makes a full recovery from his ordeal."