Mr Guy spent 20 minutes in the water hanging on to one of the crew

Coxswain Mark Sawyer, 40, and mechanic Daniel Guy, 23, are to be honoured for their parts in a rescue near Sovereign Harbour, Eastbourne.

The bravery awards will be presented by the Duke of Kent, president of the RNLI, after the charity's annual general meeting in London on Thursday.

Mr Sawyer, a married father-of-two from Eastbourne, will pick up a silver medal.

He said it was the most dangerous operation he had experienced because of the treacherous conditions at sea and gale force winds.

The bravery awards will be presented by the Duke of Kent

Mr Guy, who will receive a bronze medal, spent 20 minutes in the sea hanging on to one of the crew after the other was pulled aboard to safety.

Mr Sawyer said: "We had both only been in the job 10 months so we are very honoured.

"It's something you never expect to win because the medals are so hard to win."

Also being presented with awards are Rod MacDonald, 37, of Newquay, who save a swimmer and helmsman Phil Murray, 44, who rescued two teenage girls and a man in Alderney, Channel Islands.

Second coxswain Sean Marshall, 29, will pick up a bronze medal for helping to save the lives of three men and a woman on a yacht near Plymouth last May.