Sea rescue for men in toy dinghy

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/wales/south_east/8082466.stm

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Two men were said to be "distraught" after being rescued from a toy dinghy that had drifted out to sea in strong winds on Wednesday night.

The men, aged 40 and 29, had tried to swim to shore near Ogmore by Sea, Vale of Glamorgan, but failed and climbed back into the dinghy.

After a major rescue operation, the men were picked up at around 2300 BST.

Swansea Coastguard's Steve Matthews said going out in a toy dinghy at night was "a recipe for disaster".

The men, wearing board shorts and t-shirts, were said to be "cold and distraught".

"The only saving grace for these two men was that they had a mobile phone with them which enabled them to call for help from the coastguard, but even mobile phones are unreliable at sea," said Mr Matthews.

These two men are very lucky as the weather conditions were not very good at all Swansea coastguard

"Thankfully, due to all concerned in this search and rescue incident, two men are safe and well back on dry land. The outcome could have so very easily been worse."

Swansea coastguard received a 999 call at 2225 BST from the men who said they were unable to make it back to shore.

The men, who had been in the water but managed to climb back into the 11ft (3m) dinghy before phoning, did not know where they were.

Coastguards at Swansea spoke to them by phone during the rescue, which involved an RAF helicopter, the Llantwit Major coastguard rescue team and two inshore lifeboats.

The men were eventually located by the RAF helicopter before being pulled to safety by the crew of the Porthcawl inshore lifeboat.

They were taken ashore before being assessed by paramedics.

Swansea Coastguard said the men had intended to stay close to shore but had got into trouble due to weather conditions, including an easterly force five wind.

Mr Matthews said: "These toy dinghies are just toys. They should not be used for putting to sea in any circumstances.

"These two men are very lucky as the weather conditions were not very good at all.

"Never leave your craft and enter the water. Apart from the effect of the cold water, a craft is easier to find than a person's head in the water."