A tragedy was only just avoided last night when a volunteer lifeboat crewmember saved two children trapped by the rising sea.

Lifeboat mechanic, Anthony Chambers, swam into a Co Londonderry cave twice carrying lifejackets for the boys, aged 13 and 14, and brought them both to safety.

He has been praised for saving the lives of two children, who became trapped by the tide in a cave near Castlerock.

The incident began when the alarm was raised by a woman at about 5.20pm on Wednesday, after the boys had not been seen for two hours.

Coastguard spokesman Mark Newell said they had been in "significant danger".

"It was a very difficult rescue as there was an incoming tide and the children were actually in the water," Mr Newell told the BBC, after the two were eventually rescued from the cave at Downhill beach at around 8pm last night.

The cave is located below the iconic Mussenden Temple, (pictured) and is along a very popular strand between Castlerock and Downhill.

The boys were then taken to hospital by helicopter where they were treated for hypothermia and shock.

Portrush Lifeboat Manager Robin Cardwell said the boys were "lucky".

"The water was rising and they were certainly in great danger," he said.

The SDLP East Derry MLA John Dallat has said the community of Castlerock owes a great deal of gratitude to the lifeboat rescue services after two children were saved by a crew member at caves in Castlerock on Wednesday.

"The deep feeling of gratitude towards the lifeboat member and crew from the family is replicated by the wider community.

"This incident shows the huge amount of risk involved by crew members and the professional manner volunteers carry out their duties is a testament to the training and ethos of the lifeboat crew," he commented.

"I hope both young boys have a speedy recovery from their ordeal."

Meanwhile, there was a deadly outcome to a separate incident in the Irish Republic.

A sub-aqua unit has today been dispatched to the scene of what looks like being a double tragedy after a rescue attempt went wrong.

Local civil defence personnel along with the sub-aqua unit are involved in the search after a man who entered the water in an attempt to save three people in distress went missing.

The incident occurred yesterday evening on Gallon Lake, midway between Virginia and Bailieborough, when a boat carrying three people on the lake capsized at around 6.45pm.

Two men, one a passing motorist in his early 20s and the other man, aged 19, believed to be from Dublin who was standing on the shore, entered the water in what became a lethal rescue attempt.

Both men immediately got into difficulty and professional rescuers later found one of the men who was brought to Cavan General Hospital but died shortly afterwards.

An unsuccessful search was conducted late into the night for the second man, with the search resumed today on the small lake.

All three passengers of the capsized boat managed to make their way back to shore unhurt.

See: Second Lake Rescuer's Body Found

(BMcc/KMcA