Girvan RNLI's volunteer crew were called to reports of "children in difficulty" in the water at Girvan beach on Tuesday. 

The crew launched their Shannon Class Lifeboat within minutes of the call, with additional crew heading towards the promenade on foot in support of the incident. 

Thankfully, the call was revealed as a false alarm, with the children paddling in the water in safe conditions. 

A Girvan RNLI spokesperson explained: "On arrival, our crew on shore located the two casualties, ensuring their safety and wellbeing.

"In this instance, the kids were having an innocent paddle along the shore on such a calm and lovely evening on their way home.

"With the arrival of Girvan CRT, they provided water safety advice to the children, and we handed the scene over to the Coastguard rescue team.

"Our crew on shore headed back to station and the lifeboat was stood down. This call was deemed a false alarm with good intent, and we thank the initial caller for phoning it in."

Educational resources can be found on the RNLI website for teachers and parents to talk about beach and water safety at https://rnli.org/safety/beach-safety.

Schools and groups can also arrange for talks with a water safety officer by getting in touch with the station.