(Serenity Farne Island Boat Tours via SWNS)
By Nathan Pynn
A dog was saved after floating three miles out to sea in a kayak.
Bruce the Alsatian was playing in the waves when his owner put him in an inflatable boat and swam beside him.
But a gust of wind dragged the kayak off the shore of Bamburgh, Northumberland, and the pooch was washed out to sea.
His panicking owner raised the alarm and coastguards from nearby Seahouses scrambled a lifeboat to search for him on Sunday, July 6, in the afternoon.
Bruce was eventually rescued by the two-man crew of Serenity Farne Islands Boat Tours.
Video from the boat shows the moment Captain Jimmy Reid spotted the kayak floating out to sea.
He said: “My emotions definitely got the better of me when I finally spotted Bruce in the boat.
"I had a heart-wrenching fear the dog was going to go in the water and stay there.
(Serenity Farne Island Boat Tours via SWNS)
"When we actually got him on board and knew he was safe and knew the hard bit was over, we were both ecstatic.”
The crew leapt into action after hearing the alert come through their radio as they made their way back after a tour of the Farne Islands.
Bruce’s owner had desperately tried to swim after the boat as it washed out to sea but had been forced to turn back.
Jimmy added: “Bruce’s owner had tried to swim out to catch the kayak but did the right thing by turning round.
"It could easily have been a multi-casualty thing if he had kept going.
“When we found the boat we tried to get a harness around Bruce but it just slipped off and he fell into the water.
"Luckily my crewman Aaron reached down and grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and hauled him on board.
"If he hadn't grabbed him like that it would have been the end of the any sort of rescue effort."
Bruce was hypothermic but the crew wrapped him in towels to warm him up before sailing back to the shore where he was reunited with his relieved owner.
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