Nine people have been rescued from a life raft after abandoning their burning yacht near Shetland.

Emergency services were alerted when the Miracle caught fire 50 miles west of the islands on Thursday morning.

The RNLI and a coastguard helicopter were scrambled but the Polish crew were rescued by a nearby supply vessel.

Jens Goderstad, captain of the REM Gambler, said: "We got a distress call and found out the Miracle was only seven nautical miles from us.

"We set full speed for it and could see the flames and the smoke. We got hold of the guys in the life raft, who had a radio with them, and after an hour or so we had the life raft.

"We lifted the life raft onto the vessel and got all the people on board. They were happy to be rescued."

A spokeswoman for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said: "All persons on board have been safely accounted for after the support vessel picked them up from a life raft after they abandoned the sailing vessel.

"The support vessel is currently making its way to harbour."