Revellers at a north-east beach party sparked an emergency response from the coastguard after setting off flares.
Coastguard teams were launched following concerns that a boat was in difficulty after red beacons were spotted in the sky.
Teams from Aberdeen and Cruden Bay were sent to Balmedie Beach at around 10pm, along with a lifeboat crew from Aberdeen.
On arrival, crews discovered the flares had been sent out by the party-goers and there was no emergency.
A coastguard spokesman said: “We got reports of red flares being discharged in Balmedie.
“Similar ones are used to alert us to a distressed signal.
“As a result we have to respond when something like this happens.
“But we later discovered it was actually a beach party.”
