NORTH Berwick RNLI lifeboat crew launched last week to reports of a windsurfer in difficulty.

A call had been received by the Coastguard from a member of the public, reporting that there was a windsurfer in difficulty off Longniddry beach.

The lifeboat was launched at about 2.30pm last Monday, and reached Longniddry about 20 minutes later, amid testing conditions for the volunteer crew.

The three-person crew then carried out a search of the sea, while the coastguard searched the shoreline and car parks.

At 4pm, the lifeboat was stood down as the search had brought no trace of a windsurfer – the call was believed to have been "a false alarm with good intent".

Niall Grant, North Berwick helm, said: β€œIt was a good opportunity to put our training into practice. We were delighted to assist the Coastguard and work with them during the search.

"We would encourage the public to call 999 if they are concerned about something they witness at sea.

"On this occasion, it appears to have been a genuine false alarm.”