St Ives seal watch: Couple rescued from rocks by lifeboat

Michael Carey and Charlotte Worrall were rescued by the RNLI

A seal-watching couple had to be rescued when they were stranded on rocks for three hours and unsuccessfully tried to swim to shore.

Michael Carey and Charlotte Worrall were saved by a lifeboat from rocks west of St Ives, in Cornwall, on Monday evening.

They had gone to watch seals for Mr Carey's 30th birthday.

It took them two hours to get the attention of walkers who then called the coastguard, the charity said.

Lost clothes

The RNLI said the pair were in a "life-threatening" situation after being cut off by the tide.

Derek Hall, the St Ives lifeboat operations manager, said: "They walked out to Seal Island and because of the spring tides, the sea came in very quickly and they got cut off.

"The lady had tried to swim to shore unsuccessfully, and ended up losing some of her clothes as well, so they were very cold and shaken."

The couple were with their border collie dog which managed to swim to shore, Mr Hall said.

Mr Carey and Ms Worrall, who were rescued by the St Ives lifeboat, were not injured.