A JEEP stranded in the River Stour at Pegwell Bay is a lasting reminder of a bizarre rescue operation involving three lifeboat crews, a spotter plane, a helicopter and two coastguard units.

It was launched after a jet-ski was seen circling off the coast of Sandwich without a rider on Sunday night.

Coastguard Kelvin Godfrey said: "The rider hadn't attached the kill switch to himself so when he came off the jet-ski it went off on its own. It was seen circling round and round so we went looking for the missing rider."

While units scrambled, the rider was back at the slipway at the Western Undercliff at Ramsgate with two friends and his eight-year-old son. They decided to retrieve the jet-ski by driving their 4x4 and trailer across the river at Pegwell Bay.

The rescue operation had been called off after a ground unit reported the rider, from Minster, near Ramsgate, safe but it had to be restarted to save the jet-skier's two friends who were stranded next to the Jeep which had been begun sinking.

Both managed to walk back to shore where they were stopped by the coastguard from returning to their vehicle.

The RAF helicopter crew from Wattisham buoyed the stranded Jeep. It has been left to wash out to sea as it is too dangerous to retrieve and the coastguard has warned all pleasure boats to be wary around the scene.

Mr Godfrey added: "It was down to the sheer stupidity of the jet skier.

"All it would have taken is for [the rider] to attach the kill switch, or to phone the coastguard when he lost the jet-ski. Instead he started a rescue operation which cost thousands of pounds."