A GROUP of teenagers had a lucky escape tonight after their dinghy became washed out into the Solent.

The youngsters, two youths and two girls with ages between 17 and 19, had set off from Newport in their blue and pink 16ft craft, named Princess.

They had intended to paddle their way down the River Medina and then four miles eastwards in the Solent to Wootton.

But while the ebb tide ensured good progress down the river they quickly found the tide was well against them in the Solent.

They had got no further than off The Shrape, East Cowes, before an on-shore policeman decided to alert Solent Coastguards that they could soon be in real trouble. When the Cowes RNLI lifeboat arrived on the scene just after 9 pm they found none of the teenagers - two from East Cowes and two from Wootton, were wearing lifejackets and, with twilight fast approaching, their boat carried no lights.

All four were immediately transferred to the lifeboat and they and their boat taken to East Cowes Marina.

The 19 year old told the lifeboat crew he had only purchased Princess that day and decided to take it and his friends for a trip.

On arrival at marina the lifeboat helm, Laurie O'Callaghan, gave him some sea safety advice in the hope that future voyages would be uneventful.