Men rescued after speedboat sinks

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Three men have been rescued by an off-duty coastguard officer after his mother spotted their speedboat sinking in a sea loch.

The men were thrown into the water when their boat was swamped by a wave on Loch Sween in Argyll.

Margaret Campbell, the mother of a local coastguard rescue officer, spotted the stricken trio from her home on the shore and raised the alarm.

Her son Sandy then used his own boat to pull the three men from the water.

Mrs Campbell saw the boat, which was about a quarter of a mile offshore, overturn at 1240 BST on Monday.

Two of the men were not wearing life jackets and struggled to stay afloat in the cold water, which was being buffeted by force five winds, until Mr Campbell was able to reach them just 16 minute later.

They were in an area where they could quite easily not have been seen at all. In that case, none of them would have survived Bill SpiersClyde Coastguard

Mr Campbell, a part-time deputy station officer with the Ardpatrick coastguard rescue team, who is understood to work on a nearby offshore fish farm, hauled the three men from the water and onto his own boat before the Islay lifeboat and a Royal Navy helicopter arrived on the scene.

The speedboat crew were all said to have been uninjured after their ordeal, but were taken to hospital in Lochgilphead as a precaution.

Bill Spiers, watch manager of Clyde Coastguard, which co-ordinated the rescue, said the men would probably not have survived if they had not been spotted by Mrs Campbell.

He said: "They were in an area where they could quite easily not have been seen at all. In that case, none of them would have survived.

"Every minute is crucial in these situations because the water is very cold no matter the time of year and those men owe their lives to Sandy as he got there so quickly.

"It was lucky for these men that the incident was witnessed by Mrs Campbell and help was instantly at hand. I think they had a lucky escape."

Mr Spiers said he believed the boat took a few big waves over the bow, which was enough to destabilise it, and urged anyone taking to the water to wear a suitable buoyancy aid.