A paddle steamer has sunk off the Welsh coast while being towed to Ireland.

The 36-metre vessel did not have anyone on board and did not contain any fuel when it sank in the Irish Sea, 10 miles west of South Stack on Saturday afternoon.

RNLI’s Holyhead lifeboat was called to the scene, but there was nothing the crew could do to save the boat.

Coxswain Tony Price said: “It was very sad to see such a lovely vessel sink like that, but fortunately no one was endangered and the lack of fuel on board meant there were no environmental issues.”