Pair rescued from sea at Portrush

Two people have been rescued from the sea at Portrush after becoming caught in the riptide off West Strand.

A member of the public heard them shouting for help at about 1500 BST on Saturday and made a 999 call.

The pair, who had thought they saw a dog struggling to get ashore, were rescued by the Portrush lifeboat. Both of them were drunk.

Meanwhile, a man was rescued from the sea in rough conditions near Portrush on Sunday after falling from a boat.

Two people onboard the 18-foot cabin cruiser made a mayday call at about 0915 BST on Sunday from about half a mile east of Ballintoy harbour.

A rescue helicopter was scrambled from Prestwick in Scotland but it returned to base after the man was brought to safety.

He was said to be very cold but had no visible injuries, the Belfast Coastguard said.

The boat was left without power because a rope was caught around its propeller, and a lifeboat towed it to Ballycastle.

Portrush lifeboat operations manager Robin Cardwell said the two men involved in the rescue on Saturday evening were lucky to be alive.

He said that when the lifeboat arrived, they were both about 40 metres from shore and had drifted about 100 metres apart.

"One of them managed to keep afloat while the other was more or less lying on top of the water," he said.

Mr Cardwell said that when they were brought on to the lifeboat, they were violently sick and showing signs of hypothermia.

"We got them into the boathouse and by that stage an ambulance had arrived. They weren't saying a lot and they were sick in the boathouse as well," he said.

"There's no doubt in my mind that if the boat hadn't got there when it did, they would have perished."

He said there was no sign of any dog in the water.