LIFESAVING equipment could be put in place along the Fife Coastal Path after a teenager was rescued from the water near Dalgety Bay.

Emergency services raced to the Forth just before 8pm last Tuesday evening with coastguards, RNLI Lifeguard crews and a rescue helicopter all in attendance.

Two members of the public are believed to have swam in and helped to bring the teenager back to the shore with posts on social media describing the men as “heroes.”

A spokesperson for HM Coastguards said the alarm was raised at around 7.45pm when they received a 999 call from a member of the public about a female in the water at Dalgety Bay.

She added: “South Queensferry coastguard rescue team and RNLI lifeboats were sent, alongside the Kinghorn coastguard rescue team and the search and rescue helicopter from Prestwick to locate and recover the casualty.

"Scottish Ambulance Service and Police Scotland were also in attendance. The casualty was found and brought back to shore before the helicopter arrived, and she was handed into the care of the ambulance service.”

A spokesperson for the ambulance service added: “We received a call at 7.57pm on July 21 to attend an incident in the waters off Dalgety Bay. We dispatched our specialist operations team to the scene and a female patient in her teens was transported to hospital.”

Since the incident, concerns have been raised over the lack of lifesaving equipment and Dalgety Bay and Hillend Community Council are now looking to address this.

“The whole of Dalgety Bay and Hillend acknowledge this young man's bravery and quick thinking which led to the rescue,” said a spokesperson.

“This highlights the lack of provision of safety measures along the coastal path. We are in the process of contacting the RNLI for advice for the best places to have rescue equipment along the coastal path. After we receive this advice we will then speak to various stakeholders about getting this rescue equipment installed.”

Robbie Blyth, head of operations for Fife Coast and Countryside Trust, said: “The equipment should be easy to use by members of the public with minimal hesitation and without putting the safety of the rescuer at risk.

“Though the trust are not responsible for public rescue equipment within this location, we would like to take this opportunity to thank the rescuer for taking immediate lifesaving action as his selfless act of bravery prevented a tragedy.

“We also strongly advise members of the public to take care in and around any water body and to follow the guidance from water safety charity’s such as the RNLI.

"Open water swimming can be very popular at this time of year and the public are advised to take sensible precautions preferably swimming in a location with supervision.”