A driver sleeping on Holy Island Causeway sparked an emergency response as his vehicle became cut off by the tide.
Multiple 999 calls were made on Thursday reporting what appeared to be a 4X4 vehicle cut off in the fast rising tide at Holy Island Causeway.
Seahouses RNLI were paged by HM Coastguard at 5.54pm and the Inshore Lifeboat RNLB D-828 Grace Darling, was launched and made best speed to the Causeway. Local Coastguard Shore Based Rescue Teams had also been mobilised to the scene.
- Read more: 'Feared and ruthless' Tyneside crime boss raked in 'footballers wages' from prison in 53 kilo cocaine conspiracy
- Keep up to date with all the latest breaking news and top stories from the North East with our free newsletter
On arrival, it was established that the vehicle driver had been asleep in the 4X4 and had been unaware of the rising tide around his vehicle. He had managed to move his vehicle to higher ground and was on the island shoreline on arrival of the lifeboat. No further assistance was required, and the lifeboat returned to station.
High tide at Holy Island was at 6.51pm, and the Causeway was closed by the tide from 4.25pm until 10.20pm.
Seahouses RNLI Volunteer Press Officer Ian Clayton, said "An unusual call indeed to the Causeway for our crew. Fortunately, the driver must have awoken and realised his situation and was able to quickly get his vehicle to higher ground.
"Meanwhile concerned members of the public had correctly made multiple 999 calls reporting the incident. The fast rising tide did initially concern the rescue authorities, but the driver was able to rescue his situation. If you are fatigued while driving, and need a rest, please be careful where you choose to pull over and park up!"
Join our WhatsApp communities
ChronicleLive is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our communities.
We have a number of communities to join, so you can choose which one you want to be part of and we'll send you the latest news direct to your phone. You could even join them all!
To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press 'join community'.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.
If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.
Join the ChronicleLive Breaking News and Top Stories community
Join our Court & Crime community
Join the Things to do in Newcastle and the North East community
Join our Northumberland community