LITTLE hope remained last night of finding a Teignmouth fisherman alive after his boat sank off the French coast.

Chris Wadsworth, 21, was one of four crew members on board the Etoile Des Ondes (Star of the Waves) when the 15-metre crabber was in collision with another boat 30km off Cherbourg.

An investigation has been launched but the boat's owners claim it was hit by another much larger vessel which appeared not to see it.

The smaller 40-tonne vessel is understood to have keeled over and sank to the bottom of the sea within a few minutes in freezing Channel waters.

A search party involving French coastguards was immediately launched but had to be stood down after more than seven hours. The boat is co-owned by brothers Dave and Robert Simmonds, of Teignmouth, neither of whom was on board the vessel at the time.

A distressed Dave Simmonds confirmed one of his men had gone down with the boat.

"I'm afraid he's gone," he said.

"My brother and I are absolutely devastated. The boys on the boat were like family and this is a terrible shock to us. All I know is they were in collision with another, much larger boat."

He said that Mr Wadsworth had lived in Teignmough, though not all his life, while the other three were all from the Teignmouth area.

French coastguard officials from the Jobourg station near Cherbourg in Normandy said there was little chance of finding the fisherman alive.

A spokesman said: "The water and air were really cold and we understand the fisherman was only wearing his boots and waterproof suit. Unfortunately his chances of survival are almost impossible.

"It is very likely he is dead."

In May 2005, the boat at the centre of the accident was the subject of an investigation by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch, after a crew member fell overboard.

As a result, the Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents wrote to Robert Simmonds, advising that he re-examined operational aspects of the boat to reduce the chances of people falling into the sea, and encouraged crew members to wear lifejackets while on deck.

An investigation by the UK Marine Accidents Investigation Branch has now been launched into the incident which happened at 7.30pm British time on Sunday.

The French Coastguard spokesman confirmed the alarm was raised after the flare was spotted by the merchant vessel Norman Voyager.

He said: "The captain was in the cabin at the time and managed to swim underwater. One of the sailors on deck did not manage to make it to the raft.

"They saw the fourth man in the water but they couldn't get to him."

The three rescued fishermen were fished out of the water by the Norman Voyager before being taken by helicopter to the Pasteur University Hospital in Cherbourg where they were treated for severe hypothermia.

Two of the crew were released from hospital yesterday and spent last night in a hotel. The third is expected to leave hospital today.

Falmouth Coastguard said the other vessel involved in the collision has yet to be identified. The Marine Accident Investigation Bureau said yesterday the sinking would be the subject of a formal inquiry.