Three men, believed to be Iranian nationals, have been rescued off the English Channel coast after their small boat got into trouble.

The trio were picked up by the Border Force cutter HMC Seeker near Hastings in East Sussex after being alerted by the Coastguard at 9.30am on Saturday.

A Border Force spokesman said: "HMC Seeker was deployed immediately and has picked up the individuals onboard who are believed to be Iranian nationals... The group will now be processed."

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said the RNLI Hastings lifeboat and the HM Coastguard helicopter from Lydd in Kent also responded to the incident.

The men were held two weeks after 18 Albanians had to be rescued from an inflatable boat after it sank off the Kent coast.

This prompted immigration union officials to warn that Britain's coast faces one of its greatest ever breaches from small boats and dinghies carrying migrants.