A canoeist was winched to safety by helicopter after getting stuck for more than three hours in a muddy riverbank.
The man got into difficulties while paddling along the River Tay, near Errol, on Sunday evening, prompting a huge emergency response.
The canoeist, who had become tired and disorientated in unfamiliar waters, got stuck in knee-deep mud after abandoning his craft. He raised the alarm by calling 999 on his mobile phone.
A lifeboat was launched from Broughty Ferry.
An RNLI spokesman said: “It is a difficult part of the River Tay to reach with high, 12ft river banks and reeds, and there is nowhere to land a canoe until the little harbour at Port Allen or Invergowrie.”
He said: “We got a call just after 9pm and we scrambled a lifeboat, plus there were coastguard rescue teams from Montrose and Carnoustie in attendance, and even from South Queensferry who provided mud rescue equipment.”
The crews were unable to reach the canoeist and a rescue helicopter was scrambled from Prestwick.
A spokesman for the Broughty Ferry lifeboat team added: “He had been out canoeing and as he was feeling tired, and night was drawing in, he made his way to shore.
“Unfortunately, due to the tide being out and it being an unfamiliar area to him, he became stuck.”
He said: “On scene, there was difficulty spotting the casualty from shore because of the layout of the land and how tall the reeds were.
“We deployed a couple of mud teams with coastguard mud technicians and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service technicians, and helicopter rescue 199 was also sent on its way to help with its powerful searchlights.
“However, due to the undergrowth it was hard going for the mud teams.”
The spokesman added: “The lifeboat had spotted the casualty and one of their team ade their way on foot from the water-side.
“Due to the time the casualty had been in the mud, feeling tired and cold, it was decided to extract him and the crew member by helicopter.”
He said: “They were winched up into the helicopter which landed in an area that other coastguard members had made safe for him.”
The canoeist, who was understood to be suffering the onset of hypothermia due to exposure, was checked over by paramedics at the scene.
An ambulance service spokeswoman said: “We received a call at 9.44pm to attend an incident in Errol. We dispatched our special operations team, one ambulance and a manager to the scene. The patient was checked over at the scene and did not travel to hospital.”
