A helmsman watched in horror as his yacht crashed into the "blinking eye" Millennium Bridge.

A crowd of spectators on the bridge saw the helmsman of the Cork 1720 Sportsboat as he lost his bearings - during a two-hour circular race on the River Tyne - and hit the structure, cracking the yacht's hull.

Soon after setting out with a fleet of 24 yachts from St Peter's Marina, in Newcastle, his boat was caught by a strong spring tide and pushed towards the bridge.

The fleet was supposed to sail along the Tyne and turn before reaching it.

But the helmsman, an inexperienced sailor from Blyth, Northumberland, was unable to break out of the tidal flow and ended up with his mast lodged under the bridge, watched by bemused spectators.

The yacht was forced almost on to its side, before the helmsman managed to right it.

However, he could not get it free and the bridge had to be raised. Eventually, a crane was used to lift the craft out of the water.