A MAN nearly lost his car to the sea after an attempt to rescue his jet-ski.

The water sports enthusiast had been jet-skiing off Tynemouth, North Tyneside, when the steering on the craft failed, leaving him unable to bring it to shore.

In an attempt to pull the stranded jet-ski to safety, he took his car on to the beach - only for it to become stuck in the sand and quickly surrounded by the rising tide.

The man, who lives in nearby Cullercoats, had to call Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade to help him pull the stricken car from the water.

Richard Ilderton, of the brigade, said: "The man initially called the Coastguard for help, but there was nothing they could do because it was not a life or death situation.

"He had decided to drive his car to the water's edge, but the sand was wet and he quickly became bogged down.

"Fortunately, one of our members has a tractor, so we were able to haul him out."

The rescue took about an hour, by which time a large crowd had gathered to watch the Vauxhall Vectra being pulled to safety.

Mr Ilderton said: "It had become fairly well stuck in the sand and at one point the tide had risen so much that it was floating. We attached a rope and managed to pull it out.

"Amazingly, the RAC was managed to start the engine and the man was able to drive the car off the beach."