Alert as rig breaks free at sea

Hutton TLP's legs are the focus of the operation

A tug has been sent to help the remains of a North sea oil platform which broke free from one of its tow lines.

The decommissioned Hutton TLP was being towed by two tugs en-route to Spain when the incident happened in storms.

Shetland Coastguard said there was a risk the broken tow chain could damage pipelines on the seabed, about 110 miles north-east of Lerwick.

The severed tow line was later recovered, and the platform was expected to be towed to Lerwick.

A spotter plane spent the day searching the area, without seeing any signs of pollution.