Lifeboat called out to late night yacht rescue

RNLI A rescue boat heads out to water in the dark with its lights beaming outRNLI
Kippford's inshore lifeboat was called out to the rescue late on Saturday night

A sailor had to be rescued after a yacht got stuck on rocks on an island off the south of Scotland at the weekend.

The Kippford RNLI crew was called out to the incident at about 23:00 on Saturday at Hestan Island near Auchencairn.

The sailor - who was unhurt - was able to get off the yacht onto the island and was taken back to the shore by about 02:00.

The vessel was towed back on the rising tide on Sunday morning.

Kippford RNLI's Gordon Blandford said: "The sailor had dropped anchor for the night near Hestan Island but due to increasing wind decided to move to a calmer anchorage.

"Upon attempting to restart the engine a mechanical issue was discovered leaving the boat with no power and it was quickly pushed on to the rocks.

"The casualty remained calm and quickly contacted the Coastguard for assistance meaning we were able to help before the situation deteriorated further."