The sailor was knocked overboard by the boom of the 33ft (10m) yacht Wavelet on Thursday evening near the River Exe.

BBC: Yacht boom knocks Devon sailor, 72, overboard

Many of the city's current flood defences are about 50-years-old after being built in response to the River Exe bursting its banks in October 1960.

BBC: Exeter flood defence improvement works to start in 2014

Water from the swollen River Exe has washed away the ground from underneath some of the nearby track, buckling rails and making the area unstable.

BBC: South West rail problems could last five days