Lowestoft's fishing community has rallied round to support a popular, well-respected fisherman and 'all round nice guy' who lost his leg in a 'very serious accident' on his boat.

Geoffrey Melton, who is based out of Lowestoft, was fishing alone for shrimp in The Wash, near King's Lynn, when the incident happened while on his beam trawler The Serene Dawn.

Despite being seriously hurt, he managed to get himself into a position where he could dial 999 to request the coastguard.

'Given the extent of his injuries, it is nothing short of miraculous that he was able to do that and clearly, without a shadow of a doubt, saved his life,' said Senior Superintendent Tim Jenkins, who is from The Fisherman's Mission charity.

It is understood Mr Melton has had to have his leg amputated below the knee as a result of the accident.

His daughter, Lisa Appel, took to The Journal's Facebook page earlier this week to say: 'I'm very proud of him and he's a fighter.'

A collection is now being organised at Lowestoft's fish docks to support

Mr Melton and his family as he recovers from the incident - which happened at around 7.30am on Sunday - in Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge.

Read today's Lowestoft Journal for the full story.