Children rescued by RNLI lifeboat after kayak blown out to sea

Two children have been rescued by lifeboat after the wind pushed their inflatable kayak out to sea.

An adult on the shore raised the alarm after spotting the boy and girl, thought to be in their early teens, in difficulty in the Moray Firth on Saturday afternoon.

The offshore breeze had pushed the inflatable two-person kayak out to sea, leaving the young kayakers unable to paddle back to shore, the RNLI said.

When Macduff RNLI Lifeboat arrived on the scene at 3.27 pm, the kayak was about 2km (1.1 nautical miles) out at sea and coastguard helicopter, Rescue 151 from Inverness, was hovering overhead.

The boy and girl were brought aboard the lifeboat by crew members Rob Smith and Kyle Park, along with the inflatable kayak.

The kayakers were then taken to Portsoy harbour in Aberdeenshire where they were handed over to members of the local coastguard station.

A paramedic from Rescue 151 was winched down on to the harbour to provide medical assistance should it be needed, however the kayakers were thought to be alright apart from being cold and wet.