A Dutch sailor in his sixties has died after falling from the mast of a yacht moored alongside St Mary’s Quay in the Isles of Scilly.

He was being pursued by agents from the Border Force – formerly the UK Border Agency – before trying to leap onto the quay.

He suffered severe head injuries and was taken by helicopter to a hospital at Treliske, Cornwall where he later died.

The matter has been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission by the Border Force, whose job it is to protect the UK border from infiltration by drug dealers.

The Dutchman – a solo sailor – had been towed into St Mary’s on Sunday by the lifeboat. He was fatigued and his rigging was faulty.