A RESCUE helicopter was called out this morning (Saturday) after a boat suffered engine failure near Dunbar.

Coastguard and RNLI teams from Dunbar and North Berwick were called out at about 11.40am and even received a helping hand from two kindly kayakers.

Dunbar's inshore lifeboat suffered a mechanical issue and was unable to assist, which saw the all-weather lifeboat called out, with North Berwick RNLI lifeboat tasked as a support crew.

A spokesman for North Berwick Coastguard Rescue Team said: "Coastguard team members kitted up in preparation to enter the water and assist the casualty vessel as it began to drift towards rocks.

"Coastguard rescue helicopter Rescue 151 from Inverness attended the scene as a support option, having already been airborne.

"A fantastic effort was made by two sea kayakers who afforded the casualty vessel assistance and managed to pull it away from rocks until a tow was established.

"This was a remarkable effort by them and undoubtedly prevented any escalation of the incident or damage to the vessel.

"All parties were brought safely into Dunbar Harbour without further incident."

A crew of firefighters from Dunbar and the Scottish Ambulance Service also attended the incident as a precaution.

The spokesman added: "Team members remain on patrol and will again be on patrol tomorrow.

"Remember if you see someone or something you are concerned about on the shoreline, cliff, mud or on the sea.

"Dial 999 and ask for the Coastguard. If in doubt, call!"

It was the third time in 24 hours that North Berwick's Coastguard team had been called out over a busy start to the weekend.

Yesterday (Friday) morning, the crew were tasked to help three people on Craigleith Island after their kayak had started to deflate.

On that occasion, the three people were found to be uninjured and brought back to North Berwick, where the crew carried out extensive decontamination procedures.

Each person was wearing a "personal flotation devices" and had a means of calling for help.

Then, yesterday evening they were called out to near Longniddry Bents after reports that two paddle boarders were in difficulty.

The spokesman added: "Once on scene, the team made contact with the first informant and got eyes on the casualties.

"It turned out that they were happily out for an early evening paddle and didn’t require and assistance.

"Both teams and the lifeboat were stood down and returned to their stations and made ready for the next call."