Group of 18 kayakers rescued from sea

The group of adults and children got into difficulty in the water off Cullercoats Bay

A group of 18 kayakers have been rescued after being blown out to sea.

The five adults and 13 children were using kayaks and bodyboards at Cullercoats Bay, near Tynemouth, North Tyneside, when they began to struggle in the water.

HM Coastguard was contacted at about 12:20 BST and sent Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade and the RNLI's inshore lifeboats to rescue them.

RNLI coxswain Sam Clow, who attended the rescue, said everyone in the group was "safe and well" but one of the children had been taken to hospital as a precaution.

He said the initial call reported 32 people in difficulty.

"By the time we got on scene some people had made it ashore safely," Mr Clow said.

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"Unfortunately, they just got caught out by some offshore winds.

"The winds picked up while they were out there and they just got pushed a little bit far out of the bay and struggled to make it back against the winds."

Sam Clow was one of the RNLI volunteers who rescued those in the water

Northumbria Police and Blyth Coastguard Rescue Team were also sent to the scene.

The coastguard said passing vessels supported the rescue operation.

Mr Clow said: "The coastguard put a call out for any vessels in the area to assist and luckily two commercial vessels were in a position to come a bit closer in and help recover some of the kayaks once all the people were accounted for."

Becks Dawson was swimming in the the area at the time of the rescue and said people began cheering on the beach when the RNLI crew returned the first boatful of kayakers to the shore.

"We are lucky to have the RNLI and the lifeguards on the beach," she said.

"In a way, it made me feel safer because they were dealing with it in such a calm way."

The RNLI recently issued "float to live" advice to beachgoers in case they got into trouble while in the water.

Tim Tredant, from the charity, advised those in difficulty to "tilt their head back and relax" and to "gently move your hands and legs".

"If your legs sink, that's ok, everybody's body floats differently," he said.