A sea swimmer has been rescued after getting into difficulty off the Ayrshire coast.
A member of the public phoned the coastguard to raise the alarm after spotting the woman struggling off the mouth of the River Irvine, at Irvine, at about 1.10pm on Thursday.
A rescue operation was launched and Troon lifeboat, a coastguard rescue helicopter and Ardrossan and Ayr Coastguard Rescue teams went to the scene.
Troon RNLI lifeboat pulled the woman to safety and she was handed into the care of the paramedic on the coastguard helicopter, which had landed in Irvine.
She was said to be conscious and alert but it is thought she had been caught out by the strength of the waves and could not make it back to shore.
The woman was then passed into the care of the Scottish Ambulance Service when they arrived at the scene.
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