TWO cousins have teamed up to help rescue a paddle boarder off the East Lothian coast.
Emergency services were called out on Saturday afternoon following reports of a paddle boarder in difficulty near Thorntonloch.
Both Dunbar’s RNLI and Coastguard teams were involved, alongside North Coastguard Rescue Team and Civil Nuclear Constabulary.
The callout marked the first time that Alan Blair, an RNLI volunteer for nearly 17 years, had been on a call-out alongside his cousin, 21-year-old Lewis Blair, who joined the Coastguard in January.
UK Coastguard paged for the inshore (ILB) and all-weather (ALB) lifeboats at 3.55pm after a member of the public raised the alarm.
The crews launched minutes later and both boats were on scene by about 4.15pm to begin a search.
The person was spotted on rocks near Thorntonloch Beach before it was established the casualty had managed to make their own way to the shore.
The paddle boarder, who had got into difficulties after being blown away from shore, did not require medical treatment.
An RNLI spokesman said: “Stand-up paddle boarding is fun in flat water or surf and can be enjoyed by the whole family but this incident highlighted the potential risks.”
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