A TUG boat crewman was injured in Gravesend in the early hours of Saturday morning (Dec 7).

The man was hit by a three-inch rope after it became caught up and he was knocked to the deck.

He could not remember what happened after the incident but was suffering from pains in his head and neck.

A Gravesend RNLI spokesman said: "The lifeboat was tasked to an injured crewman on board a tug.

"The vessel had been involved in towing a spoil barge, the barge was being berthed when the incident occurred.

"The crewman had been hit by a three-inch multi plait rope and it is believed the rope had got caught under a tyre fender, around eight metres in diameter, and then hit the crewman knocking him to the deck.

"He was immobilised, placed on a spine board and loaded onto the lifeboat and transported to Royal Terrace Pier where he was met by the ambulance service."

A spokesman for South East Coast Ambulance Service said: “We sent an ambulance crew and a car to Royal Oak Road following reports of a 22-year-old man who had suffered a neck injury and been struck on the head by a rope on a boat.

“He was treated at the scene for a head injury and was taken as a priority to Medway Maritime Hospital.”