A MAN who was rescued in the nick of time from his sinking narrowboat is now homeless and has lost everything.

Jon Hundley had gone to Seaborne Marina in Kempsey, near Worcester, to fill up his boat with diesel when the drama unfolded.

As the 48-year-old was returning to his moorings at Diglis,Worcester, he ran into trouble and called his 73- year-old father Norman saying: "Dad, I'm in big trouble. I have water gushing into the boat, the pump has stopped working and the engine room is filling up with water."

Norman Hundley, who lives in St John's,Worcester, said he could hear water gushing into the 40ft boat, which has been his son's home for nearly a year.

"He was drifting down the river and it was getting dark, so I told him I would be there as quickly as I could," he said.

"I told him to get to the slipway at Seaborne and put the anchor down and then I would be able to help him.

"But by the time I got there there was no sign of him. I called him and started walking along the river trying to find him.

"I kept shouting and flashing my torch.

"Then I heard his voice and when I got to where he was I could see it was getting pretty desperate.

"By then his anchor had taken hold, a friend came along and we got in touch with the emergency services and they were amazing."

Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service was called at 7.30pm on Monday and sent two rescue boats to the scene.

Spokesman Alec Mackie said crews got Mr Hundley off the boat and to an ambulance, returning to check no one else was on board.

"By then there was two feet of water in the boat and it was beginning to list, so we got our team off and more-or-less simultaneously as we pulled away the stern disappeared and the bow raised into the air and down it went," he said.

Following his ordeal Mr Hundley said: "I am completely distraught and I do not know what to do.

"I've lost everything, all my clothes and photographs and a lot of pictures of my two children who are 18 and 15. I will never get on a boat again. It frightened me to death."

He was treated for hypothermia at Worcestershire Royal Hospital and released the same evening.

He is staying with his parents until he finds alternative accommodation.

The boat, which is worth £16,000, is completely submerged and British Waterways has closed the river from Diglis to Upton-upon- Severn to all traffic because of the obstruction.

The river will only be reopened when the boat has been removed. The Environment Agency has also been alerted as it is believed the boat had 40 gallons of derv, a type of fuel oil used for diesel engines, on board.