Lad, 8, swept out in dinghy

AN eight-year-old boy was rescued after being swept half a mile out to sea in an inflatable dinghy.

He twice tried to swim to shore, pulling the boat, after he was carried out by the tide and offshore wind.

His parents on the beach at Allonby Bay, Cumbria, called the Coastguard and RNLI. The boy was rescued after 40 minutes, suffering from hypothermia.

The Coastguard said: “We strongly recommend blow-up boats and toys are not used at the beach.”