A fishing boat which was capsized by a freak wave is not expected to be salvaged until the weekend.

The Girl Rona was toppled while it was trying to approach Teignmouth, South Devon, on Monday. Five fishermen were rescued and escaped uninjured. It is thought the vessel also escaped unscathed, though it is now lying on its side near the shoreline while Teignmouth Maritime Services devise an action plan to haul her in.

Harbourmaster David Vaughan said they cannot act until the weather settles, and said he expected no further progress until the weekend. But he said the position of the vessel meant it was not likely to sustain any damage in the meantime.

The company was brought in after harbour authorities and coastguards worked with the owners to try to salvage the boat themselves, but the effort was aborted when a tow snapped and the conditions made the operation more difficult.

Commander Vaughan said: "We had a number of resources at our disposal and there was no urgency to get on with it because everyone was off the boat and it was on the bottom."

He said the vessel was fully insured.