Canoeists capsized after bungling late-night lobster hunt

It is understood the pair set off to check on lobster pots, anchored off the coast of Cockenzie Harbour, in one single and one double kayak on Sunday evening.

The men apparently began taking the creels on board, however one dropped a pot into the open kayak, causing panic.

Simon Ward, coastguard officer at Forth Coastguard, said: "It seems one of occupants was lifting a pot and dropped it into the kayak. The lobsters have been snapping about at the bottom of the canoe.

"His friend has obviously panicked and jumped off the kayak, and it's capsized as a result. You can imagine the scene, like something from a comedy sketch."

Fellow coastguard officer Simon Smart, who co-ordinated the rescue which cost around 4500, added: "It transpires that they were using one kayak to put the lobsters in and one of them has freaked out when the lobsters have got into the boat."

Mr Smart said the Fisherrow and Kinghorn Lifeboats were deployed around 7pm after members of the Royal British Legion club, which overlooks the bay, phoned 999, however the brother of one of the stranded men used a home-made lift raft to rescue them.

He said: "This man went out on this craft, which we would rate as quite unseaworthy, to get them. They have been clinging on to the side in freezing waters for at least 30 minutes and paddled back to shore.

"This has been an incredibly foolish thing to do. You can slip into unconsciousness in well under an hour in those conditions. They have gone out in low light, without life jackets and in kayaks. It's guaranteed you are going to get into some difficulty if you behave like this."

Heather Angus, 53, bar manager at the Royal British Legion, said: "I did think it was strange that they were out there in kayaks.

"One of my colleagues came running in and said we should phone 999. There was a fishing boat there soon but this small dark raft went out to get them. It took them ages to get there and quite a while to get back.

"It was quite unusual."

A spokesman for Forth Coastguard added that they discovered three individuals by the shore who refused medical treatment and that one kayak sank as a result of the incident.

The coastguard has warned inexperienced sailors to take care to avoid getting into difficulty, to always wear a life jacket, and to be sensible about the time of day that they set out at. It is understood that the lobsters escaped back into the wild.