A NEWLY re-opened pier was at the centre of a drama when an elderly sailor collapsed at the helm.

The 66-year-old man had set off from Bridlington bound for Scotland and the Isle of Aran when he collapsed with fatigue off the coast of Redcar.

Stunned onlookers watched his boat, the Yorkshire cobble Our Freda, crash repeatedly into Saltburn pier on Sunday morning.The Victorian structure had re-opened only 12 hours earlier following renovations costing £1.3m.

Redcar Lifeboat crew member, Dave Cammish, said: "A number of 999 calls were received by the Tyne-Tees Coastguard reporting the incident. The Redcar lifeboat raced to the scene, finding the Yorkshire coble already aground and its owned semi-conscious.

All 16 crew members worked until the early hours to prevent the fishing boat re-floating on the night tide and causing serious damage to the pier."