Pair rescued as boat runs ashore off Crail in Fife

Two men have been rescued after their boat ran ashore on rocks in poor weather.

The alarm was raised just before 1am today when someone on shore spotted the fluorescent markings of their lifejackets.

Anstruther Inshore Lifeboat arrived first at the scene, off Crail in Fife, and got the two men out of their vessel, which is understood to be a refurbished lifeboat.

They were transferred to Anstruther All-Weather Lifeboat which took them to Anstruther for medical assessment where they were found to be uninjured.

The RNLI said the weather very poor with gusting winds and heavy rain.

The men, from Liverpool, were transferring the vessel to the Isle of Man and were on a leg of the journey heading north towards Peterhead. It is not yet known where they set out from.

Rescuers said the boat started to break up on the rocks and will be a total loss.

One of the lifeboat crew provided accommodation for the two men for the rest of the night as they were left with only a mobile phone and a small amount of money.

The rescue was co-ordinated by Forth Coastguard.

PA