A lifeboat crew launched to a kayaker in distress after he accidentally activated an alert on his smartphone.

Lyme Regis RNLI lifeboat crew was alerted to the signal.

The kayaker was half a mile south of the town’s harbour when the alert was received by coastguards and had paddled ashore when the volunteer lifeboat crew arrived.

Lifeboat helm Murray Saunders said: “It was a false alarm with good intent, and the kayaker deserves full credit for being safety conscious and using a distress system.

“I don’t think he even knew he had accidentally set it off in his pocket and he was very apologetic.”