Mother and children rescued from sea off Stonehaven after dinghy capsizes

A mother and her two young children have been rescued from the sea after their dinghy capsized off Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire.

The family were picked up by the crew of a sailing club boat after the incident, which happened about 500m (0.3 miles) out to sea at 10:30.

The Stonehaven RNLI lifeboat was also sent to the scene.

The three people were handed over to the care of the Scottish Ambulance Service.

In a statement issued online, Stonehaven RNLI said: "About 1030hrs on 12th June, RNLI Stonehaven were tasked by HM Coastguard to reports of three persons in the water near Stonehaven.

"The 'Jamie Hunter' was launched and on arrival at scene found a mother and her two young children had been picked up by a passing yacht.

"The mother and children had been out in a small dinghy which had capsized just south of Stonehaven.

"All three were transferred to the lifeboat and taken back to Stonehaven Harbour and handed over medical staff to be checked over."