Two children saved in major rescue mission at Scots beauty spot

Two children were among three people rescued at a beauty spot in East Lothian after they became “disorientated”.

Volunteers from two RNLI stations launched their lifeboats around 4.51pm on Monday alongside Coastguard rescue teams and Police Scotland to rescue one adult and two children in difficulty in the Gullane Bay area.

As the charity’s volunteer lifeboat crews arrived, they were made aware that the casualties had become disorientated in the dunes to the east of the bay, an area thick with gorse and tree cover.

North Berwick Lifeboat initiated a shoreline search using search lights and night vision, with Kinghorn Lifeboat using an infrared camera.

The lifeboats also provided area lighting to members of North Berwick, Fisherrow, and Dunbar Coastguard Rescue Teams who were searching the dunes.

The casualties were located but with some difficulty, and Coastguard rescue teams spent “considerable time” extracting them safely through the thick gorse bushes.

Once the extraction route was confirmed as overland, the lifeboats were stood down and made their way to their respective stations.

RNLI lifeboats across the UK and Ireland launch over 100 times on average during the Christmas period.

To make a donation to the RNLI’s Christmas Appeal, and enable the charity to continue its lifesaving work, visit: RNLI.org/WinterAppeal.