A father and his 11-year-old daughter were beginning to suffer the effects of hypothermia after getting stranded in the sea.

A call went out to the coastguard around lunchtime today to report the pair had been cut off by the tide below the Captain Digby pub at Kingsgate.

Margate's RNLI crew were paged and the inshore lifeboat was dispatched to help, alongside a coastguard rescue team.

Crews said the father and child were found on the beach, but both had been in the sea and were suffering the signs of the onset of hypothermia.

It was revealed the father had been in the water with his daughter on his shoulders and had spent 20 minutes up to his chest in the water trying to reach safety.

Both were taken on board the lifeboat and transferred back to the lifeboat station.

They were checked out by an ambulance technician and after a warm shower and a change of clothing at the station were able to be re-united with the rest of their family.

Ian Lowe, deputy launching authority, for Margate lifeboat said: "The man was well prepared being familiar with the area and taking the precaution of checking the tide times, but made an error with the timings, the tides are especially high this weekend.

"If you should find yourself cut off by the tide do not enter the water but stay in the relative safety of the bay and try to raise the alarm. Before setting out let people ashore know where you are going and your expected time of return."

Margate RNLI publishes tide times for the weekend on its Facebook page and urges everyone to check them when planning a beach walk.