A fishing boat skipper has been winched to safety after falling ill at sea.

A coastguard rescue helicopter was dispatched to the vessel 90 miles off Stornoway on Lewis at 1.30pm on Thursday.

The skipper was successfully winched off the boat despite rough sea conditions.

A coastguard spokesman said: "The crew contacted UK Coastguard at about 1.30pm yesterday and plans were set in motion to airlift the captain as soon as possible.

"Although the sea conditions were rough, the captain informed us that the vessel crew were well organised which meant that the winch job went quickly and smoothly."

The skipper's condition is unknown.

Scotland's entire search and rescue helicopter fleet were temporarily grounded earlier this month.

Manufacturer Sikorsky called for inspections to the tail rotors of all S92 helicopters after a helicopter spun out of control trying to land on a North Sea oil platform.

The grounding is not believed to have hampered any rescue operations.