A mother and her two sons had to be rescued by helicopter after being cut off by high tides during a coastal walk.

The family, from Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, had been sheltering under a cliff before they were winched to safety on Wednesday.

They had set off from Scarborough, North Yorkshire but when the boys' father could not contact them he raised the alarm at 2030 BST.

A Sea King helicopter from RAF Leconfield was scrambled and the boys, aged 12 and 13, and their 38-year-old mother were rescued, said the Humber Coastguard.

Check tides

They were spotted near Filey Brigg and taken to Scarborough Hospital for a check-up before being released.

A spokesman for the coastguard said: "It was a fairly routine rescue but it could have been a lot worse.

"With the light failing we needed to locate them and get them on board, you don't want to be doing this kind of thing in the dark.

"They were experienced walkers and had done coastal walks before, but it is easy to be caught out by the tides.

"People often check the weather conditions but not the tide."