A KITE surfer plucked from the sea has thanked the lifeboat team who saved him.

Steven Wood, of Darlington, was surfing off the coast of Coatham Bay, Redcar, when he got into trouble on Saturday afternoon.

An emergency call was made to the Humber coastguard and at 3pm the Leicester Challenge 2 lifeboat was launched at Redcar.

The red and white kite sail was quickly found but there was no sign of Mr Wood and a search was started.

A spokesman for the Redcar lifeboat said: "As a search got under way, a coastguard on the beach reported something in the water between the lifeboat and the shore.

"The casualty was found in an exhausted state, just able to cling to his board after an attempt to swim ashore failed. He was quickly pulled into the lifeboat and taken ashore."

Mr Wood said: "I was surfing when the wind dropped and I was struggling to get the kite back up, which took a lot of my energy. When the wind finally picked up, it was in the opposite direction so I got blown further out.

"I detached the sail and decided to swim, but the tide was going out so I couldn't make any headway. Luckily, someone had spotted me and called the coastguard and once the lifeboat was out it soon found me.

"I wasn't injured, but I was really exhausted and very glad to see the lifeboat crew. I can't thank them enough for what they did. It is good to know they are there if you do get into trouble."

Mr Wood has been buggy surfing for three years but only took up kite surfing a few months ago. He said: "This kind of thing is a hazard of the sport, though you don't often need rescuing, and I am looking forward to getting back to it."