Abersoch RNLI has issued a warning to people entering the water after a paddleboarder got stranded at sea.

The volunteer RNLI crew was called by the coastguard at 5.37pm on Thursday, 22 May, following two reports of a paddleboarder who appeared to be struggling to return to Abersoch main beach due to offshore winds.

At 5.45pm the Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat was launched and arrived on the scene within five minutes.

The adult male casualty, who had no means of calling for help or floatation device, had been in the water for around 30 minutes.

He was quickly located and the volunteer crew immediately carried out casualty care to assess him for signs of hypothermia due to the length of time he had spent in the water.

The casualty was returned to the main beach safe and well and the lifeboat left the scene at 6pm.

Abersoch RNLI volunteer helm Elissa Williams said: “Whenever you are heading out onto the water please ensure that you have a suitable means of calling for help that you can easily reach should you need it, and make sure that you are wearing suitable clothing for the forecasted conditions - including a personal flotation device.

“Avoid offshore winds as they can easily tire you quickly when trying to return to shore.”

Elissa also mentioned that this was volunteer trainee crew member Jo Jones’ first rescue after successfully completing a tier of her training that now allows her to go on call outs.

The crew returned to the station at 6.05pm where the lifeboat was washed down, refuelled and left ready for service by the volunteer shore crew.

If you do get into difficulty, or spot someone else who appears to be in trouble, don’t hesitate and call 999 or 112 and ask for the coastguard.