TWO men were rescued after the dinghy they were in sank in Rousse harbour on Saturday afternoon.

The 21- and 24-year-old swam to a nearby boat and were spotted from the shore by John Mahy.

‘We were sitting in our car and I said to my wife, there’s someone swimming,’ said the 75-year-old retiree.

‘The man with long hair got to the boat first and the other was struggling, so he threw him a buoy, which he caught.’

He told Rod Norman, who called 999 at 3.18pm.

‘I thought I heard someone shout for help,’ said Mr Norman, the special constable for the area. ‘So I phoned the ambulance and then went down to the beach and told them to stay on board.’

The men had been in the water for about 10 minutes.

At 3.49pm, the inshore rescue boat was launched from the slipway at Rousse and picked them up.

Ambulance crew assessed them and found that, although cold and wet, they did not require further treatment.

They were kept warm and dry and taken home by ambulance.