A canoeist was last night recovering after being rescued from the sea.

The man (58) had to be pulled from the chilly water after his kayak canoe capsized about 200 yards off the Co Down shore at Cloughey yesterday.

He was taken ashore by a member of the public who used his jetski to rescue him.

The stricken man was then taken to hospital as a precautionary measure.

Among those also involved in the rescue, at about 11am, were the Coastguard, PSNI and Ambulance Service crews.

A spokeswoman for the police said: "The PSNI helicopter assisted the Coastguard in locating the man and as police on the ground directed operations the owner of a jetski made his way to the stricken man and helped him to safety. "Police in Ards have praised the quick-thinking and co-operation of the local Cloughey community," she said.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Northern Ireland Coastguard confirmed the Portaferry Lifeboat had been launched.

He said: "We received a report from a member of the public from the shore that a man was in trouble in a kayak about 200 yards off the shore at Cloughey near Portavogie.

"While he was on the phone the canoe capsized and we launched the Portaferry inshore lifeboat and contacted the PSNI whose Police 44 helicopter helped us locate the man.

"He was recovered by the first informant and two others on a jetski brought him back to the shore on the jetski."