Jet ski duo saved after washing up at Stranraer

TWO men from Northern Ireland were rescued from rocks after their jet ski ran out of fuel and drifted about 40 miles before washing up on the Scottish coast.

The men set off from Bally­castle early on Friday before getting into trouble.

Belfast Coastguard was alerted and the Stranraer Lifeboat was able to find them on rocks at Corsewell Lighthouse near Stranraer on Friday evening.

Both men were said to be very cold and one had suffered an ankle injury.

The coastguard said a private vessel taking the men back over the North Channel to Northern Ireland later also ran out of fuel and had to be towed to Red Bay.

A spokesman said: “They had no navigation aids, could not get a signal from their mobile phone and had drifted for hours.

“We don’t know where they broke down because they did not have any navigational assistance.

“They are certainly two lucky men. One of them was able to get up the rocks and raise the alarm at the nearby hotel and we got the Stranraer Lifeboat out.”

After the men were picked up by the Stranraer Lifeboat they were taken to hospital for a check-up and later released.

The lifeboat returned to the scene and was able to get a tow on the water scooter.

The distance across the North Channel from Ballycastle to the coast near Stranraer is about 40 miles.