MARINE accident investigators yesterday raised a fishing boat from the seabed off the North-East coast after it went down with the loss of two crewmen.

The wreckage of the trawler was last night being towed to Tynemouth and accident investigators hope to begin sifting through evidence today.

The Jan Denise II was found almost 150ft down on the seabed in a combined operation involving specialist divers from a private company, three officers from Northumbria Police's Marine Unit and Tynemouth RNLI lifeboat.

The 36ft steel-hulled trawler, crewed by father-of-three Bobby Temple, 32, and his 26-year-old brother Brian, both of Fencehouses, near Chester-le-Street, County Durham, disappeared in heavy seas on November 17.

The loss prompted one of the biggest sea and inshore searches to be carried out in the region for many years. The two men have not been found.

During the search, a fishing boat reported a smell of diesel in the area where the Jan Denise II had been and a sonar sighting of an object on the seabed.

Northumbria Police later confirmed that the vessel had been found, five miles due east of the mouth of the River Tyne.

The Jan Denise II, which was registered in Scarborough and owned by Caley Fisheries, had sailed from the Fish Quay, at North Shields, early on November 17. It had been returning to the Tyne in sea conditions described as moderate to rough when it was last seen. The brothers, originally from Seaham, east Durham, were experienced trawlermen.

A spokesman for the Department of Transport's marine accident investigation branch said last night: "We have succeeded in lifting the boat from the seabed.

"The boat is still on slings under the surface of the water. The recovery vessel is returning very slowly - at about one knot.

"Once they get the boat off shore they will pump the water out and start to lift the boat out of the water."

The spokesman added the Jan Denise II would be brought up the Tyne River this morning to a secure location for a full inspection.