A FAMILY of three have been rescued from rocks off the North-East coast.

The family, two adults and a child believed to be from Whickham, were stranded by the rising tide, at Sharpness Point, Tynemouth, at about 4.30pm on Friday.

A bypasser alerted the coastguard, who called in the Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade.

It was the second rescue in a day for crewman Dave Thompson, who had earlier freed a 15-year-old boy caught in mooring ropes.

Adrian Don, from Tynemouth RNLI, said: "This family were lucky.

"The sea conditions were fairly calm so they were in no immediate danger although they faced a long wait for the tide to go back down, so it was best that they were taken to safety by lifeboat.

"It's another reminder that the sea and coast can be dangerous so we would always advise people to make themselves aware of the tides."