A lifeboat was launched on Saturday morning to assist a family of tourists who became marooned on a tidal island off the north-west coast of Orkney.
Stromness lifeboat was launched at about 11.40am after Shetland Coastguard was alerted by a member of the public that the family were cut off by high water on the Brough of Birsay.
A Shetland Coastguard spokeswoman said the member of the public raised the alarm when they saw the father of the family attempting to cross back to the mainland to get help.
Upon arrival at the scene, the lifeboat crew launched their inflatable Y boat and completed two runs to the island to escort the family back to the mainland.
Two Coastguard teams – one each from Kirkwall and Stromness – were also sent to the incident.
The coastguard spokeswoman added: “In the end, the family of four were taken safely back to the mainland by Stromness lifeboat. They were not local to the area”.
The lifeboat spokesman David Bowdler said: “Between the island and the mainland, it’s a rocky causeway that is under water for a good number of hours at a time.
“It’s covered in green algae and weeds and you can get strong tides there, so it would be easy to slip and hit your head. Someone in that position could easily get cold water shock, so calling 999 was exactly the right thing to do.
“From our point of view, it was a straightforward rescue. Conditions were calm at sea, with no wind or swells”.