Help me, mate... I'm on the Titanic and it's sinking fast

When Alex Evans answered his mobile phone he was stunned to hear best friend Mark Corbett, 25, shouting: "I need your help."

The RNLI volunteer, 27, from Aberystwyth, west Wales, was even more perturbed when he learned his friend told him the name of the ship he was on.

The unlikely call came just one day before April 1 as he queued with his mother to pay at a DIY store in his home town.

After ensuring he was not the butt of an elaborate practical joke, Mr Evans co-ordinated a dramatic sea rescue from the store's kitchen section.

He rapidly took down the grid reference of the ship's location on a till receipt and alerted Milford Haven coastguard.

It was later discovered the Titanic belonged to a company called White Star Ltd, the same name as the cruise line which owned the ill-fated original.

"He called me because it was the only number that he could remember in his panic. I think it was either me or his mum," Mr Evans said yesterday.

"I think his mum might not have had as much luck if she rang up the coastguard and said 'my son is in a sinking ship in the Caribbean called the Titanic'."

He said Mr Corbett, also from Aberystwyth, was near the island of Grenada, and the engine room had already taken in 8ft of water.

The ship was too far from shore to use its VHF radio and lack of power had cut off long- range radio links.

The small crew was left with just the satellite phone, and a panicked Mr Corbett was reduced to dialling numbers he knew by heart.

His call proved to be a life-saver as the emergency alert was transferred to Falmouth Coastguard.

Within an hour the American coastguard and a French spotter plane were scrambled and a US coastguard cutter eventually towed the ship to safety.

Mr Evans said he had since heard that his friend had safely got back to dry land and was expected back in the UK this week.