Sailors escorted to safety after vessel takes on water near Wick

Two crewmen have been escorted to safety by lifeboat after their vessel began taking on water.

A lifeboat was required to escort sailors to safety near Wick. Picture: Ben Birchall/Glasgow 2014 Ltd via Getty Images

The pair issued a Mayday call when their 12ft scalloper got into difficulty about four miles off Wick in the Highlands just after 2pm on Monday.

Their vessel was taking on water and the onboard pump was not working.

Wick lifeboat arrived at the scene within about 15 minutes and handed over another pump which enabled the crewmen to bail out the water.

The scalloper then sailed back to Wick harbour escorted by the lifeboat, with some of the lifeboat crew on board to help.

It arrived at Wick harbour at about 3pm.