A MAN had to be rushed to hospital after being hit by a rope out at sea.

The 66-year-old yachtsman was taken inland to a waiting ambulance when he was hit by a rope on board a 30-foot boat in the wind-swept Solent.

The Cowes lifeboat service was launched at 12.40pm yesterday and the man was fitted with a neck brace before being transferred to the lifeboat.

Suffering from back and neck pain, he was then taken to Trinity Landing, Cowes, and conveyed to St Mary’s Hospital.