Two men were thrown from their speedboat outside Hartlepool Marina and were trapped while it circled them with beloved dog, Toby, still on board.

Barry O'Brien, 63, and Philip Williams, both of Bishop Auckland, were left treading water with the propeller blades of their 16ft speedboat encircling them.

Barry had to watch helplessly as Toby sped around in circles.

Lifeboat crews eventually reached the stricken trio and plucked the pair from the icy water. But Barry, who has had a number of heart attacks, refused to go to hospital until he was reunited with Toby.

Mr Williams, 47, today told the Mail: ''I am glad to be alive.''

He described how the incident unfolded at around 6pm yesterday opposite Pilot's Pier

He said the boat hit a wave and veered off to the right throwing the men overboard.

He said: "It circled round us and got pretty close and I got worried and started kicking each time to get out of the road of it.

"We both got hauled out by different yachts and I got taken back to the lifeboat house but Barry, who has had four heart attacks, would not leave without his dog."

One of the yachts - the Cordon Rouge - alerted Humber Coastguard and the Hartlepool Royal National Lifeboat Institution was launched.

They rescued the shaken dog by crews on the all-weather and in shore lifeboats who swung a rope between their boats and dragged it over the propellers of the speedboat bringing it to a halt.

Barry and Toby were reunited and brought back to the lifeboat house.
Mr Williams said: "An ambulance was called by the lifeboat crews who were concerned about Barry's heart condition.''

Once back at the lifeboat house with Toby, Barry was taken to the University Hospital of Hartlepool for a check-up but was released later in the night, said Mr Williams.

"Both Barry and Toby were a bit shaken up but we are all fine,'' he added.

Mike Craddy, lifeboat operations manager, said: "Both men are lucky to be alive; falling out of the boat at that speed could have been catastrophic."