THE number of people rescued by the county’s RNLI crews is at the lowest it has been for at least five years.

Figures released this week show a record number of people rescued across Scotland.

However, in East Lothian the figure has dropped, with 23 people rescued by Dunbar’s lifeboat crew and only six by North Berwick during 2014.

Dunbar’s RNLI crew was launched 31 times last year, slightly up on 2013.

However, the figures show 23 people were rescued, compared to 31 the year before.

In 2012, the figure was even higher at 58, and 24 in 2011.

Meanwhile, in North Berwick, the number of people rescued in 2014 was six, compared to 20 the previous year.

Twenty were also rescued in 2012, with just nine in 2011.

Across the country, 1,175 were rescued in 2014 compared to 1,008 12 months previously.

Lifeboat stations spent almost 40,000 hours at sea in the year, a combination of attending incidents and carrying out training exercises.