LIFEBOAT crews have been involved in a dramatic rescue after a boat capsized in Southampton water.

Crews from Hamble lifeboat station and a rescue boat from the Red Eagle ferry have been involved in the rescue this afternoon.

The crew were brought to safety after the dinghy got into trouble in water adjacent to Netley.

Photos taken by passengers on board the ferry captured the dramatic rescue.

Pictures taken by Twitter user Charlotte Rand (@CharlotteRand) appear to show one of the crew members clinging on to part of the boat in the water.

A man, woman and child were pulled from the water and were taken ashore but were unharmed.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said the emergency call came in at 12.24pm.

A spokesman said: "At 12.24 today Coastguards at the National Maritime Operations Centre received a VHF radio broadcast from a yacht which had seen a dinghy capsize in Southampton water.  Hamble Independent Lifeboat was asked to attend.  

"The Southampton Harbour patrol vessel was also on scene very quickly and reported to the Coastguard that they had recovered three people safely on board.  

"The Red Funnel ferry nearby deployed a fast response boat to attend to the floating dinghy, which may have presented a danger to other vessels.

"The three people were taken to Netley Sailing Club and checked by an ambulance crew and found to be cold but uninjured."

A spokesman for Red Funnel said: "An upturned dinghy was spotted from our vehicle ferry Red Eagle at approximately 12.20pm which was en route from Southampton to East Cowes.

"The ferry stopped and launched its rescue boat. It was shortly joined by Southampton Patrol and Hamble Lifeboat.

"Our rescue boat picked up one person from the dinghy and transferred them to Southampton Patrol Boat, which picked up the other two.

"Red Eagle then continued its journey to East Cowes.

"We would like to thank the Master and his crew who acted swiftly and professionally. They are highly trained and regularly practise man over board drills so are well placed to assist in such incidents.

"We would also like to pass on our best wishes to the three people who were rescued."