LIFEBOAT crews rescued five people - including three children - from an inflatable dinghy off the Ayrshire coast.
Troon RNLI volunteers helped the occupants of the boat to shore after they got into difficulty near Prestwick Beach.
The outboard motor on the inflatable boat had broken down and it was drifting away from the shore due to the strengthening wind.
Volunteers launched the rescue boat at 3.25pm on Saturday following a request from HM Coastguard Belfast.
The coastguard had received a distress call from the group on the dinghy.
There were two adults and three children on board. No one in the group was wearing a life jacket or warm clothing.
They were warmed up and transferred to the lifeboat.
Despite language difficulties, the group was safely transferred back to shore to meet members of HM Coastguard Ayr team.
Duty coxswain Brian Hedges said: "We have to respect the water, this could so easily have turned into a disaster and thanks to the combined, coordinated rescue by the volunteer lifeboat crews and HM Coastguard Ayr team, it all turned out well in the end."
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