Seven suspected illegal immigrants were arrested on the Suffolk coast after their yacht was blown onto a mud bank by high winds.

The immigrants were on board a 28ft sailing boat that was trying to get into the mouth of the River Ore from the North Sea when it got into difficulties.

The alarm was raised and coastguards and the RNLI were alerted.

The main lifeboat from nearby Aldeburgh was on exercise in the area but was unable to get into the river because of the shallow channels.

Instead the Aldebugh RNLI's inshore lifeboat was called into help save the white-hulled yacht which was being blown on mudbanks.

The boat was towed to the jetty at Orford where UK border force officials arrested seven men.

Almost exactly three years ago, six Ukranians were caught getting off a small boat at Orford Quay and three later received jail sentences of up to four years.

As border security along the Channel coast has been stepped up in recent years, smugglers have been forced to make much longer crossings from Europe and East Anglia has become a favourite target to land illegals.

It is a 120-mile crossing from the Dutch coast and in a small boat the journey takes 24 hours. But once here, smugglers have 250 miles of largely un-policed coastline to choose from including creeks and estuaries and miles of isolated beaches.