Two jetskiers who sparked a coastguard alert last year when they called for help on a mobile phone after getting lost crossing the Irish Sea yesterday completed the trip from Scotland to Northern Ireland without any hitch.
The pair were believed to have made the first ever jetski passage from Scotland to Northern Ireland in July last year. But a Sea King helicopter had to be called out to search for them when they attempted the crossing without flares, life-saving gear or radios.
They claimed that the coastguard had "over-reacted" after they used a mobile phone to call for a position check after failing to keep up with a ferry they were trying to follow. A lifeboat had to be called out to guide them to land.
James Nelson (28) and John Reilly (49) raised hundreds of pounds for the Special Care Baby Unit at Falkirk Royal Infirmary by making their crossings.
A spokeswoman for Clyde Coastguard confirmed that the pair had completed the 22-mile crossing safely. She said: "They followed one of the ferries from Stranraer . . . Our colleagues in Belfast reported their safe arrival to us at about 6.30 p.m., after they left Scotland in the afternoon. We don't know when they are going to try to return. We did speak to them before they left, but we can't stop anyone from going."
The pair, from Falkirk, had promised to equip themselves with flares and a ground satellite system for yesterday's attempt.