Poole Harbour swim bet teenagers saved

Two teenagers had to be rescued after trying to swim across the entrance of a busy harbour in Dorset for a bet.

The 15-year-olds had tried to make it across Poole Harbour on Tuesday evening but got into difficulties and were picked up by an RNLI lifeboat.

The boys had been in the water for some time and were checked over by an ambulance crew as a precaution.

Portland Coastguard criticised the teenagers and said they were lucky not to get hurt or cause an accident.

A spokesman said: "It is a very busy harbour and swimming across the entrance is a very bad idea.

"All kinds of vessels use it, from big passenger ships to jet skis and yachts, and there's always a real possibility of getting run over or causing an accident.

"We don't know the details of the bet, but if they bet each other who could swim across the harbour the fact they had to be rescued shows it is not a good idea."