THERE were dramatic scenes on a North-East beach this weekend when a man was airlifted to hospital with facial injuries after being thrown from a boat in galewhipped seas.

Another four men, from a second boat, managed to struggle ashore after their craft capsized during a memorial fishing competition off Saltburn seafront, on Saturday.

They had been taking part in the annual fishing match in memory of local plumber, 50- year-old father-of-two Jim Maidens, who drowned in similar circumstances, in 1998.

He was swept overboard by a freak wave close to Pennyfs Hole, at Huntcliffe.

Coastguard officials were critical of the anglers setting out to sea in spite of gale warnings.

A spokeswoman said: gOur advice would be to check the inshore forecast prior to going out to sea. The inshore forecast was for gale force winds, with a gale force eight, later.ff The injured man, who was airlifted by the Great North Air Ambulance to The James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, had been washed ashore.

The man, who is in his 40s, and from east Cleveland, hit the boatfs propeller as he was thrown over the back of the boat, into the sea. Surgeons operated on his wounds, which are not lifethreatening.

Redcarfs two lifeboats escorted four small boats, which had been taking part in the same competition, to safety, after first taking a woman off one of the boats.

The four men were thrown into the sea about 150 metres from the Ship Inn, Saltburn, when their boat, the 20ft Look Far, capsized.

Last night, they were reported as safe and well.

Over the years the competition set up in Mr Maidensf memory has raised thousands of pounds for the RNLI, but one of Mr Maidensf old friends, who asked not to be named, told The Northern Echo: gIt was silly to go out when the inshore forecast was gales. What money they will have raised will have been wiped out by the cost of the rescue.h It is understood organisers delayed the start of the competition for an hour, to assess weather conditions, and then notified the coastguard, before beginning the event.

Dave Cammish, RNLI operations chief at Redcar, said the episode was ironic, because the anglers who were swept overboard had all been competing for the Redcar Lifeboat Crew Trophy.

Mr Cammish said: gThe first boat started to capsize in the broken water, some distance off the Ship Inn, throwing four people into the water. They struggled ashore and sometime later their boat was washed up on the beach.

gThe young female was just traumatised by what she saw happen,ff he said.

The lifeboats escorted five small fishing boats, which had been taking part in the competition, to safety.

Last night the organisers of the competition could not be contacted for comment.

Redcarfs two lifeboats were diverted from a routine training exercise yesterday to rescue a windsurfer in difficulties, half a mile off Saltburn.

The exhausted 41-year-old, a firefighter from Brighouse, West Yorkshire, was plucked from the sea, further down the coast from his original reported position, close to the point of Huntcliff.

Helmsman Cameron Bond said: gThe man had blown a long way from the position where he was first spotted. By the time we picked him up he was completely exhausted. He thought he was a goner.h The man was exhausted but was otherwise uninjured.