Reports of three windsurfers in difficulty off Wemyss Bay resulted in the Largs Lifeboat diverting from a training exercise to race to an emergency call.

Wednesday night training for the volunteer crew at Largs RNLI took an unexpected turn when they were tasked by HM Coastguard to respond to the call.

The RNLI immediately diverted to Wemyss Bay to investigate a report from a member of the public.

Thankfully, on the crews' arrival the windsurfers had returned to the beach and were all safe and well.

The RNLI crew spoke with them and determined they were the same group which had been reported.

After a chat about water safety, and with all persons accounted for and confirmed safe and well, the lifeboat was stood down by HM Coastguard.

Andrew Malone, Largs RNLI Lifeboat volunteer helm, said: ‘This was a false alarm with good intent. We would like to thank the member of public for calling the coastguard - it is always better to be safe than sorry when lives may be at risk.

"If you get into difficulty at sea or along the coast, or spot someone else in trouble, always dial 999 and ask for the coastguard."

The lifeboat had been conducting training exercises on Millport bay when it was returning to Largs as it received the emergency call.

There was a quick crew change to allow two qualified and experienced crew to replace two of the trainee crew before the boat proceeded towards the scene at best speed.