A 61-year old sailor sent out an SOS from the middle of the Atlantic Ocean to the most unusual place, his local pub in West Sussex.

Alan Thompson, 61, said he fell to the deck of his boat and broke his hip and unable to move when he sent the distress signal to the Bull's Head some 3,000 miles away.

"He didn't want to make a big fuss, but it was very worrying," said Landlord Roger Pocock, 62.

Upon receiving the distress signal, Pocock immediately called the coastguard which dispatched US rescuers who airlifted Alan to safety abandoning his 37-foot yacht.

Thompson said he just bought the yacht named the Hunter Legend for $33,000 in Florida and was sailing her back home.

"We told him it was the last he would see of the boat, which isn't insured. He was gutted," said a spokesman for the coastguard