Rescue teams have said they are abandoning their search for survivors of the passenger ship Nottingham Forest which sank off the coast of Leicester last night.

The Nottingham Forest had been leaking for several months and was drifting without power since late November.

First mate Steve Cotterill is thought to have been navigating blindly and captain Nigel Doughty jumped ship in October after a small mutiny by passengers.

The crew are believed to be swimming for safety on other cruise liners having left no lifeboats for the hapless passengers.

The Nottingham Forest, after listing alarmingly since September, has now become fully submerged in a sea of troubles and few have responded to the calls of mayday.

Rescuers say there is little hope for those on board the Nottingham Forest but say they think some passengers may eventually find their way to a nearby island that is one league away in a southerly direction.

Coast guards first became aware of troubles on board the Nottingham Forest when the heard a garbled radio message from the ship. The only words they could make out were “Steve McClaren” and “anchor”.