Lifeboat Scrambled For Mickey Mouse

Responding to reports of a man falling into the sea, Dún Laoghaire RNLI found the "victim" to be a large inflatable Mickey Mouse.

It is understood that a number of callers to the Irish Coast Guard co-ordination centre in Dublin, reported seeing 'a man' crashing into the sea at Bray in Co Wicklow.

Initial reports suggested that it may have been a paraglider in difficulty.

However, when rescuers arrived all they recovered from the water was a large inflatable of the cartoon character.

Despite the unusual outcome, the lifeboat operations manager at Dún Laoghaire said that people did the right thing by reporting the object, saying: "We're happy that this was a call made with good intent and calling 999 and asking for coast rescue is always the best course of action."

(MH/CD)