A teenage boy had to be plucked from the River Medway by helicopter after his kayak became stuck in the mud when the tide went out.

The boy, who has not been named, set off in his craft from Hoo Marina at about 5pm, but could not get back there later as the tide had turned.

The emergency services were alerted to his predicament when someone at nearby Port Werburgh though they saw someone in a kayak about 500 metres from the shore waving their oar in the air.

The Medway Coastguard team were called out to the area at about 8.15pm but because it was getting dark, could not see the boy, so set off some flares to illuminate the sky.

Richard Rodgers from the coastguard team, said: “We could see something was there, but couldn’t make out what it was so we moved along to Port Werburgh to see if we could get closer and from there we were able to shout to the boy.

“He was able to tell us his name and how old he was and how long he had been there, we began to reassure him and I decided to get the Sea King helicopter, from RAF Wattisham, to come and rescue him.”

Mr Rodgers, who is deputy station officer at Medway Coastguard team, was worried the boy may be suffering from hypothermia as he had been in the kayak for almost six hours.

The helicopter was called in at about 10.30pm and arrived on the scene at about 11.15pm to winch the boy from the boat to safety.

Despite wearing a life jacket, the teenager, who lives in the Hoo area, had no other emergency equipment with him.

Mr Rodgers, added: “The helicopter landed in a field near Hoo Marina and he was treated by South East Coast Ambulance Service for the onset of hypothermia

“His core body temperature had dropped to 32 C, so the ambulance crew warmed him up and took him to Medway Maritime hospital for treatment.”

His kayak had to be left on the mud, but it is hoped it will float back in with the tide today and be picked up by staff at the marina.

• Do you know the boy? If so, call the newsroom on 01634 227803.