TWO North-East divers were recovering in hospital last night after running out of air while exploring a wreck.

Roy Lancaster, 57, of northern County Durham, and Myra Wiseman, 51, from Northumberland, got into difficulties as they made their way back to the surface close to the Cumbrae islands, off the west coast of Scotland, yesterday.

Ms Wiseman became tangled in an underwater fishing line, so the time spent getting her free meant the pair were submerged for two minutes too long. They made it to the surface struggling for air and had to be rescued by members of the Largs Lifeboat crew and taken to a decompression chamber in Millport, Cumbrae.

The pair, members of the Tyneside Sub Aqua Club, were then taken to Lady Margaret Hospital in Millport, where they underwent neurological tests and were kept in overnight for observation.

A spokesman for Clyde Coastguard said the divers had been exploring The Beagle, which is a popular wreck for diving.

He said: "They made a rapid ascent and because they had failed to do the required stops on the way up, they were in the early stages of the bends so were taken to the hyperbaric chamber."

However, Dave Robson, diving officer for the club, insisted: "It was a minor incident and Roy, an experienced diver, followed the standard procedures to the letter.

"Because of the amount of time spent down there they missed two of their decompression stops - that's why they later went into a decompression chamber.

"I can categorically say that they did not have the bends."