TWO anglers who tried to collect their boat from the beach sparked a £1,000 rescue operation when the tide pulled their car into the sea.

A witness said the men drove their car and trailer on to the sand to retrieve the boat off Roker beach, Wearside. Before they collected it, their car began to sink.

They could have paid £6 to use an adjacent jetty to collect the boat.

Rescuers from the Sunderland Volunteer Life Brigade and the RNLI towed the men to safety, but criticised them for the "massive risk" they had taken.

A witness said: "It was very amusing to watch. They tried to retrieve the car and boat themselves, but as the tide came in, they had to admit defeat and called the emergency services."

The life brigade was first on the scene and hauled the boat out of the sea. But their rescue jeep was unable to pull the car back to dry land, so they called on the RLNI to help.

Fred Roberts, from the volunteer life brigade, said "It's a wonder they managed to salvage the car. They should never have been there in the first place.

"You should never take an ordinary car on to the beach. They took a massive risk."