TWO men believed to be from Taunton had to be rescued from a sinking dinghy after attempting to reach an island five miles off shore on Monday.

The pair, named by the Daily Mail as Mitch Hole and David Black, said that had been out at sea at Weston for three hours before beach rangers noticed them drifting a mile out to sea from Weston's Grand Pier. 

They tried to attract the attention of the pair to no avail so asked the coastguard to call out the lifeboat.

The D Class lifeboat Anna Stock was launched within minutes from the site at Knightstone Harbour.

The crew found the men were oblivious to the danger they were in - that they were out of control and at the mercy of the strong tides. 

It also became clear that their dinghy was leaking and in danger of sinking after a beer can had burst it.

The dinghy was a simple blow up one bought on the sea front.

They had no proper life saving equipment on board and had not realised how far it was to their intended destination of Steep Holm Island.

They were transferred to the lifeboat and brought ashore by the lifeboat and checked over at the RNLI Temporary station at Knightstone.

They were then handed over to the coastguard.

Liam McDermott, the helmsman of the Weston D Class lifeboat said: "These young men were very lucky.

"Not only were they being carried out to sea by the tides but their dinghy was completely unsafe for the Bristol Channel.

"Also it was sinking and if we had not got to them they would have ended up struggling in the water.

"We want people to enjoy the water, particularly in this hot weather, but take care.

"Dehydration sets in very easily and the sea is much colder than one might think, particularly offshore.

"Only use good quality craft if going on the sea, make sure you have lifejackets and a means of calling for help."