A MAN has been rescued from the sea in North Berwick after he capsized and was unable to right his boat.

The North Berwick RNLI inshore lifeboat went to the scene yesterday afternoon (Wednesday) and pulled a man out of the water after his dinghy capsized.

Two people called the emergency services after they spotted the man capsize 500m away from the harbour towards Craigleith Island and struggle to right his boat.

He was in the water for about 12 minutes before a volunteer lifeboat crew of four people attended at 3.08pm.

The man was checked on the scene by first aiders and, due to the quick thinking of those who spotted the capsize and alerted the coastguard, he did not need medical attention.

Rhona Meikle, volunteer lifeboat press officer at North Berwick, said: “A team of four volunteer crew members reached the man within 12 minutes of the coastguard being alerted.

“In situations like this, we always encourage people to phone 999 when they see someone in danger and ask for the coastguard. The quicker this happens, the better.

“In this instance, if this hadn’t happened it may have been a different story.

“This man could have been in the water for much longer and may have needed medical attention.”