TWO people were rescued by a lifeboat crew yesterday after they were left stranded in the River Tees when their boat's engine failed.

The pair, from Seaham, County Durham, had been using an eigh foot inflatable with a small outboat motor on it, to collect winkles from the banks of the Tees.

The outboard engine failed, leaving them stranded about two miles downstream of the Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge.

They were spotted just after 4pm by the crew of a ship berthed nearby, and by the crew of the Tees pilot cutter.

The Redcar RNLI Atlantic 75 class lifeboat was launched and the boat's occupants were taken aboard the lifeboat, as was the dinghy.

The pair were then taken up river to where their car was parked on the north side of the Tees, near the Transporter Bridge.