A BOY and a girl had to be rescued from the water by police after getting into difficulty off the North-East coast.

The incident happened around 8pm at King Edward's Bay, Tynemouth.

A spokesman for Tynemouth Volunteer Lifeboat said: "As Brigade members arrived on scene they observed officers from Northumbria Police tending to youths on the beach."

The boy and a girl had been swimming in the sea when they got into difficulty and were helped from the water by two passers-by.