Crew rescues 20 stranded kayakers

Twenty kayakers had to be rescued in a two-hour operation after being cut off by the tide in a river estuary.

The group of 18 young adults and two leaders dialled 999 after becoming trapped in a cove in the Porthmadog estuary in Gwynedd on Saturday.

A spokesman for the RNLI inshore rescue boat from Criccieth described the rescue as "tricky" due to the lack of depth of water in the area.

It was the largest number of people the lifeboat had rescued for 132 years.

An RAF helicopter from Valley used its searchlight to help in the rescue.

"It was quite tricky to get to them as there is not much water, even at high tide, so we had to use our local knowledge," said Criccieth lifeboat member Keith Allmark.

"They called us because some of the party had become very cold and could have suffered hypothermia if they had stayed where they were," he added.

The last time Criccieth Lifeboat rescued so many people, at the same time, was in 1876 when a boat sank off Harlech Castle.