A CHILD WAS airlifted to safety over the weekend after drifting 250 metres offshore on an inflatable.

At around 4.40pm on Saturday, the Irish Coast Guard received reports of a child adrift on an inflatable at Newcastle in Co Wicklow.

Wicklow RNLI volunteers launched its all-weather lifeboat RNLB Bridie O’Shea after being paged by the Coast Guard.

File photo of Wicklow all-weather lifeboat. RNLI / Wicklow RNLI / Wicklow / Wicklow

The Irish Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 116 was in the area because it had earlier conducted a training exercise with the all-weather lifeboat.

The RNLI volunteer crew made best speed towards the location but were stood down around10 minutes after launching because the child had been located by Rescue 116 and airlifted back to shore.

Speaking after the callout, Connie O’Gara of the Wicklow RNLI advised the public to “leave inflatables at home”.

“Blow-up toys and airbeds are designed for swimming pools and not the open sea,” said O’Gara,

“The RNLI urges against the use of inflatables as they can easily be swept out to sea.”

O’Gara further reminded the public to wear a suitable flotation device if going on the water and to ensure you have a means of calling for help should you get into difficulty.

In an emergency, people should call 999 or 112 and ask for the Coast Guard.