French Coastguards have rescued three men from the Teignmouth registered trawler Etoile des Ondes. But a fourth member of the crew is still missing.

It is thought the trawler was in collision with another – and so far unidentified  -  vessel in the Channel late on Sunday evening.

The search for the missing man has now been suspended and a decision will be taken later on whether it should be resumed. All four men are from the Devon port of Teignmouth. French coastguards said the three rescued fishermen were fished out of the water by the Norman Voyager before being by helicopter to a hospital in north west France.n

A  French naval search aircraft has flown over the area to see if there is any sign of the missing man, but so far there has been no sighting and the rescue services are fearing the worst given the freezing temperatures.The French Coastguard said: “At 4.27am on Monday the search zone having been completely and thoroughly covered, the French maritime authorities decided to stop the search.The water and air were really cold and we understand the fisherman was only wearing his boots and waterproof suit.

A spokesman from Falmouth Coastguard said the other vessel involved in the collision has not been identified. A UK investigation will be launched into the incident. A number of merchants ships in the area have also joined in the search.

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