Two girls aged five and 19 had to be rescued when their inflatable toy dinghy was blown out to sea off Leysdown.

The pair were more than half-a-mile from the beach when they were finally plucked to safety by the four-man crew of the Whitstable lifeboat on Sunday afternoon.

An RNLI lifeguard had already swum out to them but was unable to get them back because of the strong south-westerly force five offshore wind.

A 17-year-old youth who had tried to rescue the girls later collapsed on the beach while talking to lifeboat crew and had to be taken to hospital where he was treated for swallowing seawater.

The drama happened at 3.25pm. The terrified girls were landed at Love Beach with the lifeguard and handed over to Sheppey Coastguard. The girls were then reunited with their family.

Lifeboat helmsman Dave Parry warned: “The use of inflatable beach toys has always been a worry to us. Our advice is that if people must use them, they should always be aware of wind and tide and attach them to a suitable mooring.

“In offshore winds and on ebb tides inflatables can be very quickly blown out to sea.”

Ian Arnell, Swale council’s seafront manager, said: “Inflatables always need care especially at Leysdown which has strong offshore winds. Swimmers can soon find themselves half-way to Whitstable.”

He added: “For safety, bathers should only swim between the red and yellow flags.”

Some people used Facebook to call for the RNLI lifeguards to be provided with a jet-ski.

Customers at the Talk of the Town pub collected enough money for one last summer but the RNLI said the running costs would be too expensive and there would be too many “operational difficulties.”

Lifeguards at Leysdown are provided with paddle boards.

* Do you know the girls who were rescued? Would they like to comment on the rescue operation and warn others of the dangers. Email jnurden@thekmgroup.co.uk or call 01795 580300.