Moment a paddleboarder was rescued by RNLI crew after she was swept more than a mile out to sea 

Footage shows the dramatic moment a woman paddleboarder was rescued after being swept over a mile out to sea.

The woman, aged in her 30s, was paddling close to the shore at Studland Beach, Dorset, when she was caught out by strong winds.

She spent half an hour desperately fighting the 24mph gusts to try and get back to land but to no avail.

Luckily onlookers saw her struggling and they called the coastguard.

A lifeboat crew raced to help the woman after she got into difficulty while paddleboarding in Dorset 

The woman was rescued by the crew and safely brought ashore after drifting 1.2 miles from where she started in 24mph winds 

A lifeboat crew from Poole was launched and sped to pick up the woman who was found 1.2 miles from where she had started off. They took her back to shore at Knoll Beach.

Steve Porter, RNLI volunteer who was at the helm of the lifeboat, said: ‘It was quite an easy mistake to make with deceptive weather, the cliffs and land were shielding the bay, but once clear of that shelter, conditions were quite choppy.’

A spokesman for the RNLI added: ‘Poole lifeboat was requested to launch by the coastguard at 2.30pm on Wednesday after receiving numerous calls from the public who had seen a paddle boarder, who had just got caught out and was blown offshore.

‘The lifeboat was soon on scene and the volunteer crew spotted the paddleboarder 1.2 miles from where they had started off.

‘The paddle-boarder was well prepared, fully kitted with a means of calling for help, however conditions were tricky when you got out of the shelter of the land. The wind was gusting westerly force four to five.’