Rescued divers airlifted to hospital

The Newhaven lifeboat was on its weekly routine exercise on Sunday when it was called to the divers six-and-a-half miles off Cuckmere Haven.

The pair were on a 38m dive when one had a fault with her oxygen supply.

Her buddy came to her rescue and shared her air on the way to the surface.

However, another problem forced the diver to surface urgently, followed by their buddy.

As a result they missed their last decompression stop.

A call from their dive boat Mac D was made and the Newhaven lifeboat, Solent coastguards and rescue helicopter rushed to the scene.

The divers were transferred to the lifeboat, given oxygen and winched into the helicopter.

They were airlifted to a decompression unit at Haslar Hospital, Portsmouth.