Resuce effort saves stranded grandfather and grandson from rising tide

A grandfather and grandson were pulled to safety by helicopter today after becoming stuck in mud as rising tide waters threatened to engulf them.

The pair, aged 58 and 15, got into trouble while wildfowling in Munlochy Bay on the Black Isle this morning.

Coastguard chiefs say the water was around their waists before they were pulled clear.

Fiona Hastie, watch manager at Aberdeen Coastguard, said: "The tide came in very rapidly in this incident and although pulling people out of the mud is not the best way to extract them, in this case, if the helicopter had not arrived when it did, the outcome could have been very different.

"Fortunately no medical assistance was required to the grandfather and grandson. Our advice is to always approach mud areas very, very carefully."

The alarm was raised at about 9.20am by the pair and the Dornoch Coastguard mud team along with the Inverness and Portmahomack rescue teams were sent to the area.

The Kessock RNLI inshore lifeboat and a rescue helicopter form RAF Lossiemouth were all requested to attend.

The rescue helicopter arrived on the scene just after 10am and immediately winched the casualties to the Coastguard units on the shore.