THREE people had to be pulled to safety after their inflatable dinghy was taken by the tide in the Stour Estuary, near Richborough.

A woman and two men had been paddling about in the child’s toy in the Stour at Sandwich on Monday evening and were warned of the dangerous tide by the harbourmaster.

However, they ignored his advice and were soon taken by the strong current as the tide ebbed, sucking them out at 4-5mph.

An attempt to catch them failed as the current strengthened and the Coastguard were called. The RNLI were unable to help as they couldn't get their boats over the sandbar at the entrance to the river.

Members odf the emergency services say that had the overloaded dinghy reached open sea it would have tipped over at the first wave.

None of the occupants were wearing lifevests. A Coastguard spokesman said: "We got a line to them and pulled them in at Richborough Quay, behind Pfizer. They were very lucky. By the time we got there they were pleased to see us."

* Meanwhile, a seal pup became stranded after it swum into the Walpole Bay swimming pool, near Margate, on Monday.

The Coastguard and a Marine Wildlife unit arrived at the site, at the foot of the cliffs in Cliftonville, at about 5.30pm and made sure she had been weaned and would be safe until the tide covered the pool overnight.