IT was meant to be his last adventure as pensioner Harold Bradbury set sail around the coast of Britain to visit his daughter.

Undaunted by the fact that he had no sailing experience and was facing a week-long journey to the Isle of Arran, the would-be mariner set sail from Bridlington, North Yorkshire, with high hopes.

But his adventure came to an abrupt end after eight hours and just 45 miles when his Yorkshire coble, Our Freda, collided head-on with Saltburn pier - reopened only hours earlier after a £1.3m refit.

The 66-year-old was so exhausted because of the cramped conditions on board that he was barely conscious, and lowered the anchor to rest. But the 80-year-old vessel was dragged by the tide, leaving him powerless to stop the boat repeatedly colliding with the pier, where the year-long work to restore it to its Victorian splendour had been completed a mere 12 hours earlier.

Barely able to stand, he struggled to control the boat, which had been bought six weeks earlier for £7,000.

Astonished bystanders called the Coastguard to report what they said was a drunken sailor attempting to destroy the pier.

One onlooker said: "He looked like Robinson Crusoe when he came in. There was this little bearded old fellow battling to try to stop it from going aground, but he had no chance."

A team of 16 members of the Redcar Lifeboat crew worked until the early hours of yesterday to prevent it refloating on the tide and causing serious damage.

Paramedics treated Mr Bradbury for shock and fatigue, and he was taken to a nearby police station, where he handed officers a piece of paper reading: "I'm Harold Bradbury. Please contact this number."

Mr Bradbury's son-in-law collected him later and took him back to Leeds, while Our Freda, which has already survived a bombing attack during the Second World War, was left safely against the sea wall at Saltburn beach.

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council leader David Walsh said: "It's an unusual way to enter East Cleveland. I'll be checking to see that Mr Bradbury's okay - he might want to come back for the pier's official opening."