Two children had to be rescued from the water yesterday after an inflatable toy dinghy they were on was carried out to sea off the coast of Montrose. The boy and a girl, aged 11 and six, were with their mother at the beach when they were carried out by the tide.

The crew of the inshore lifeboat at Montrose was called to the scene at about 1030 BST. Both children were rescued half a mile from the shore and were unhurt.

John West, lifeboat operations manager at Montrose, said the dinghy had been swept out on an ebb tide and was heading northwards towards Johnshaven when the lifeboat crew caught up with it. Another child, aged eight, had been given the job of holding a line attached to the toy but had dropped it.

The mother waded chest deep into the North Sea in a vain attempt to get to the two children but the Montrose inshore lifeboat had to be called out.

West advised people to ensure that their children were well supervised if they were going out into the water and to be aware of the fast-flowing tides.