LIFEBOAT crews were sent out to rescue two canoeists who were suffering from cold water shock after capsizing off Jaywick.

The young men, aged 20 and 22, were in the water for more than 20 minutes after they overturned in the sea off Beach Road on Monday at around 4.30pm.

Clacton RNLI helmsmen Adrian Rose and Eddie Vaughn-Chatfield, using the station’s inshore lifeboat, were called to the aid of the men following a number of 999 calls.

Mr Rose said: “The guys had gone out in the canoe with no life jackets or safety gear when they capsized.

“One of them managed to swim to the other and they made it on to the rocks near Jaywick Post Office.

“They had both been exposed to the water for more than 20 minutes and one of them was suffering from cold water shock.”

The men were taken to Clacton lifeboat station, in Hastings Avenue, where they were met by Clacton Coastguards and were treated by paramedics from the East of England Ambulance Service. The men refused hospital treatment.

Mr Rose added: “One of the men was okay, but it took quite a long time for the other man’s temperature to come back up.

“Two men’s lives have been saved here,” he added.