The horrified wife of Nigel Bucknall then had to wait an agonising 100 minutes before he rang back to say he had been rescued from the storm-battered ferry after it ran aground south of Cleveleys on Thursday night.

Mr Bucknall, 54, was one of four passengers on the ferry who had to be winched off the vessel which was listing badly after being hit by a freak wave as it sailed towards Heysham.

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Today the lorry driver is back home in Warmsworth, Doncaster, nursing his battered body - but amazed to still be alive and in one piece.

His wife Mary recounted his horrendous experience on the Seatruck ferry which was bringing his lorry back on its weekly run to England from Northern Ireland.

She said: "He really didn't think he was going to make it.

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"The first thing I knew was when the phone rang at 8.40pm and he said he thought he was going to die. He said how much he loved me and the family and said it was really bad and they were sending helicopters to get them off but he wasn't sure he'd make it.

"I was shocked and frightened to death so I rang my son and he came round. We phoned the coastguard and they said things would be okay but we thought they were just trying not to worry us. We put News 24 on the TV and they said it was a major incident.

"We didn't hear anything more until about 10.30pm when Nigel rang again to say he was all right. I was just so relieved."

Mr Bucknall, a lorry driver for 20 years, was taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital for X-rays, but found to have nothing more than bruising and was discharged.

He declined a night in a hotel at the ferry company's expense and was given a taxi to come straight home.

Mr Bucknall is nursing bruises all along his side and shoulder after being thrown across the deck when the freak wave hit the ferry but reckons he has seen worse weather during his many winter crossings.

Helicopters from the RAF, Royal Navy and Irish Coastguard were scrambled to rescue those on board in mountainous seas and 60mph winds.

All but nine essential crew members had been winched to safety when the roll-on roll-off vessel ran aground off the north shore of Blackpool beach. The captain then made the decision to evacuate those remaining on board as well.

Mrs Bucknall said her husband wanted to pay tribute to the captain, crew and rescuers for the way they handled the emergency and said he would continue using the ferry.

The Riverdance was carrying four passengers and 19 crew members when its cargo shifted and it started listing at 60 degrees at about 7.30pm on Thursday.