Lifeboats rescue stricken family from St Mary's Island

The island and its lighthouse are a popular tourist attraction

A mother and her two young children had to be rescued from a Tyneside coastal beauty spot after becoming cut off by the tide.

Two lifeboat crews were sent to St Mary's Island, off Whitley Bay, after the coastguard reported the group, from Liverpool, were stranded on Tuesday.

The island is accessible by a causeway which is covered by the North Sea for several hours a day.

None of the group was seriously hurt in the incident.