A man was plucked to safety from the sea after getting into difficulties off the Margate coast.

It comes after the Coastguard had a report of two people in the sea at Westbrook Bay yesterday afternoon.

It was established that one of the two had got ashore unaided and was in the care of the emergency services.

When the lifeboat arrived the second person was located in the sea well beyond the depth where he could have stood.

It was some time before the crew were able to recover him into the safety of the lifeboat.

They returned to the lifeboat station where he was handed into the care of the other emergency services.

Nick Smith, Deputy Launching Authority, Margate Lifeboat said: “This was a delicate situation for the volunteer crew to deal with and uppermost in everyone’s mind was the safety and welfare of the person in the water.

"We hope he recovers quickly from his ordeal and would like to thank the person who alerted the coastguard to the situation initially. Remember, if you see anyone in difficulties at sea or on the shoreline dial 999 and ask for coastguard.”