The widow of a lobster fisherman, who died in a tragic accident off Skokholm, has made a poignant appeal for compulsory training in rescue procedures.

Paula Jenkins also said it should be compulsory for fishermen to wear lifejackets.

Her comments came after a Milford Haven inquest heard how Andrew David Jenkins, aged 42, of Tyssul Court, Upper Park Road, Tenby, drowned after falling overboard from his 35 foot fishing boat Calonmor while his deckhand had the nightmare experience of trying in vain to rescue him.

Mr Phillips was said to be meticulous about safety but on that day he was not wearing a lifejacket.

Coroner's officer PC Jeremy Davies said Mr Jenkins fell overboard after the line snagged under another pot line while taking in his lobster pots off Skokholm on March 4th.

Deckhand Michael Morrison described the scenario after Mr Jenkins called for a knife to cut the offending line then somehow jammed his hand in the pulley.

"In less than two seconds he was in the water and next minute he was about 50 yards behind the boat," said Mr Morrison, who said it was common for lobster lines to be crossed.

He had never controlled the boat before, but managed to turn it round and reached with the 12 foot gaff, which Mr Jenkins grabbed and then lost hold of. He made a Mayday radio call, to which the lobster boat Alicia and the St Davids lifeboat responded. He pulled Mr Jenkins to the side of the boat and secured him with a line with his head above the surface. Neither man was wearing a lifejacket.

The Alicia arrived and David Griffiths helped to pull Mr Jenkins into the boat, where they carried out mouth-to-mouth resuscitation until the arrival of the lifeboat. Further resuscitation was carried out as an RAF helicopter flew Mr Jenkins to Withybush Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. A post mortem revealed death by drowning.

The coroner said it seemed a quite unforeseeable accident and no-one knew what caused him to be pulled overboard.