iStockA swimmer has been winched to safety and flown to hospital after getting into difficulty in the Moray Firth.
A rescue operation was launched after a member of the public heard the man shouting for help at around 8.20pm on Monday and called police, who alerted the coastguard.
A coastguard helicopter went to the scene located east of Nairn harbour along with Kessock RNLI inshore lifeboat, Moray inshore rescue boat, which is independent, and coastguard teams from Inverness and Nairn.
The swimmer was winched into the helicopter and flown to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness.
He got into difficulty after being caught out by the tide and was said to be severely hypothermic when rescued as he had been in the water for around two hours.
A spokesperson for the Coastguard said: “Just before 8.30pm yesterday, the Nairn and Inverness Coastguard Rescue Teams, lifeboats from Kessock and Moray and the search and rescue helicopter from Inverness were sent to assist a swimmer who had found themselves in difficulty.
“The casualty was winched to safety from a sandbank by the search and rescue helicopter and taken directly to Raigmore Hospital for treatment.”
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