Two kayakers had to be rescued by a local lifeboat crew after getting into difficulty off the Co Antrim coast on Tuesday evening.
The alarm was raised after 6pm when a member of the public reported seeing two kayakers in trouble, with one in the water at Ballygally Head.
The Larne RNLI volunteer lifeboat crew responded to a launch request from Belfast Coastguard at approximately 6.30pm and the crew's all-weather and inshore lifeboats launched at 6.42pm.
They were quickly on the scene and the casualties were located and recovered into the inshore lifeboat, where they were medically assessed by the crew.
Larne’s inshore lifeboat crew transferred the kayakers safely back to shore at Ballygally and into the care of the Coastguard while the all-weather lifeboat returned the kayaks to shore.
Speaking following the call out, Larne RNLI Coxswain Frank Healy thanked the member of public who initially raised the alarm.
"'The kayakers were located quickly this evening and returned safely to shore and we like to wish them both well following their ordeal," he said.
"Our volunteer crew train all year round to ensure when the pager sounds they are competent to complete any rescue and this training quickly swung into action this evening. We would like to commend the member of the public who contacted the Coastguard and we would urge anyone who sees someone in distress around the coastline to never hesitate in dialling 999 and asking for the Coastguard," he added.
