THREE children in an inflatable dinghy were blown offshore from Aberdour's Black Sands beach.

The dramatic weekend incident happened last month and a warning about the danger of inflatables has been re-issued.

A lifeboat crew raced to the scene but quick-thinking by those on another boat saw them step in and rescue the youngsters.

Now the RNLI Kinghorn have warned beach-goers not to use inflatables while visiting the coast after a spate of call-outs during the recent good weather.

A post on the organisation's Facebook page said the incident occurred on July 17.

"A lifeboat was stood down at launch after a report of an inflatable dinghy with three children onboard being blown offshore from Aberdour Black Sands.

"A nearby vessel was able to assist and got the casualties to safety."

With call-outs also being received to help in Portobello and Cramond when paddleboarders and people in a dinghy got into difficulties, a warning has been issued in the hope of avoiding further incidents.

A spokesperson for the RNLI Kinghorn team said: "The RNLI would always recommend not using inflatables at the beach. If you do have to use them, they should be tethered to the shore and young children should be supervised at all times.

"If an inflatable does get accidentally blown away, please contact the coastguard or lifeguard and let them know as this will reduce the chance of a search being launched when someone else sees an empty inflatable.

"At Kinghorn RNLI, our volunteers have attended numerous call-outs in recent weeks for inflatables which have been blown offshore by the wind, some with people on them.

"On one call-out to Portobello, an extensive search was carried out and five inflatables were recovered by the lifeboat crew. Fortunately, there was no-one in the water.

"If you see or suspect someone is in difficulty at the coast, call 999 and ask for the Coastguard."