Two youths had to be rescued by the Medway Coastguard team with the help of firefighters after their dinghy got stuck in mud near The Strand in Gillingham.

The boys, both aged 15, has launched their dinghy yesterday afternoon off their dad’s sailing boat which was moored to a buoy in the middle of the River Medway.

The pair, who had life jackets on and a two-way radio with them, had got caught out by the tide going out and their vessel got stuck in the mud.

The incident happened shorty before 3pm and the coastguard team and a specialist mud rescue crew from Larkfield were called out to rescue the boys from the mud.

Richard Rodgers, deputy station officer for the Medway Coastguard team, said: “The boys had all the safety equipment they need with them but had just got caught out by the tide.

“The nearby yacht club had alerted us to their predicament and they were a bit cold when they got back to shore.

“However they were checked out by the ambulance crew and were fine.”

Video: Two youths rescued from mud in Gillingham. Video courtesy of Shaun Pearce