A lifeboat was called out after two surfers got into difficulty off the north coast of mainland Scotland.

RNLI Thurso launched the boat at 10am on Thursday and spotted one of the surfers half a mile from shore.

He told the crew he and a friend had swum out to retrieve a lost board but the pair had lost contact.

The RNLI team was told the surfer was "80% sure" his friend had returned to shore.

The lifeboat conducted a search of the area but found no sign of a second person in the water.

After 20 minutes the crew returned to the swimmer and took him aboard before returning to shore.

The surfer was then transferred to Scrabster harbour where waiting ambulance staff checked him over and gave him the all clear.