A comprehensive inquiry is to be carried out after a fisherman was washed overboard.

John Sibley is still missing, four days after he went overboard from the powerful angling boat Purdy.

It is believed a large craft caused the waves which engulfed the boat - leaving its skipper unconscious and Mr Sibley in the water.

David Stewart, of the Marine Accident Investigation Branch, confirmed today it would be carrying out a comprehensive inquiry into Saturday's incident.

He said: "A report will be out in due course, probably a couple of months, and it would be wrong to say any more at this stage. An inspector will be taking statements, and it will be vital to speak to eyewitnesses to what happened."

Mr Stewart said if it was necessary, safety recommendations would be made as a result of the report.

And Thames coastguards at Walton today issued an urgent warning to anyone setting out to sea to wear a lifejacket.

Mr Sibley, 47, of Spruce Avenue, Colchester, could not swim and was not wearing a lifejacket. He went overboard 12 miles off Felixstowe.

Peter Walley, watch manager at Walton, said: "It is absolutely tragic - this man would almost certainly have been saved if he had been wearing one."

He said in the past people have been reluctant to wear lifejackets because they were unwieldy and could prevent them from doing things on the boat.

"However, present day jackets are very different, and you do not know you have got them on after a while," added Mr Whalley.

"If you go overboard they inflate automatically. The sea is a dangerous environment and to take a simple precaution can save your life."

Lifeboats from Harwich and Walton, pilot ships and other vessels in the area all joined in the seach, along with a rescue helicopter, but they could not find Mr Sibley.

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