TWO teenagers were rescued from the sea by a passing fishing boat after their canoe started to sink.

The youngsters from Hartlepool, aged 13 and 15, lost their oar after they had set out to sea in a canoe which the Humber Coastguard described as "falling apart".

The pair were without lifejackets and were only wearing swimming trunks.

The Coastguard has now warned against canoeing in shipping lanes after the boys' vessel was almost capsized by a dredger ship.

They managed to clamber on to a navigation buoy that marks the channel into the Hartlepool docks and were clinging to the buoy for 15 minutes before being rescued The coastguard said they received a 999 call around 7.30pm last night.

Graham Dawson, of Humber Coastguard, said: "The two teenage boys were ill-prepared and the vessel was not fit to put to sea. They had no lifesaving apparatus and were not suitably clothed.

"They were fortunate that the skipper of the fishing vessel spotted them. The outcome could have been a lot worse."