Tom Sexton had to strip down to his boxer shorts in order to save Boris

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A boat skipper had to take drastic action after some of his cargo went overboard. However, the cargo was not some bottles of rum or gold bullion - it was a meerkat.

The crew of the Gry Maritha arrived in Penzance with its cargo, which included two meerkats - Boris and Doris - who were being kept in a cat transporter. The critters had been collected from the Isles of Scilly and were on their way to Axe Valley Zoo in Axminster, Devon.

However, after the boat arrived in the Cornish port, Boris and Doris made a sudden dash for freedom. The crew were able to snare Doris before she could get anywhere she should not be.

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However, it was a different story for Boris as his escape effort saw he make it to the water by the boat. But things took a slightly worrying turn as Boris began to panic in the water.

This led to Tom Sexton, the boat's captain, to strip off to his boxer shorts and dive in after Boris. The 33-year-old was able to grab hold of the meerkat and bring him back to safety.

The incident was caught on camera by a crewmate and despite a bit of a scare, it was all smiles afterwards. Boris and Doris were soon back on their way to Axminster.

Speaking about what happened, Tom said: "We had these meerkats being transported from the Isles over to Penzance. I think the owner originally had four of them in a sort of little petting zoo at his council house.

"Two of them were in this cat carrier style box but managed to figure out how to break out while we were sailing. The two of them were just running around the deck, but there were all kinds of cars and crates they kept hiding under so we decided to leave it until we got into port.

"Eventually after mooring we all got out brooms and gloves and the five of us started running around the deck trying to catch them. We managed to get the first one, but the second one jumped overboard. I was actually pretty impressed at how good a swimmer he was, but he seemed to be in a bit of trouble.

"I decided I'd jump in and grab him so I stripped off down to my boxers and put on some gloves to go get him, I knew they could be quite nippy. I was surprised how easy it was to get him though. We then put him back in his box and hoisted him back onto the deck."