A man had to be helped from the sea and taken to hospital after he suffered a painful back injury in the water.

The man had been in the process of lifting a kayak out of the water at East Beach, West Bay, on Friday evening. This movement had aggravated a previous muscular back injury, Coastguards said.

He was helped from the water by his partner and friends and was said to be lying face down on the beach.

West Bay Coastguard Rescue Team and ambulance paramedics responded to the incident.

A spokesman for the coastguard team said: "Once on the beach, officers carried out an initial assessment and found that the casualty was comfortable but unable to move.

"As the man was wet and the wind was increasing, the decision was made to transport him off the beach to a place of shelter whilst waiting for the ambulance.

"Officers carefully packaged the casualty into the team's rescue stretcher and then transported him off the beach to nearby shelter.

"Once the ambulance had arrived, the man was transferred into the expert care of the South Western Ambulance Service and the team was stood down to return to station.

"We wish him a full and speedy recovery."