A young girl has been hospitalised after being swept out to sea on an inflatable toy.

Emergency services rushed to Portmarnock Beach, Dublin, at 2.20pm yesterday after a call from a member of the public.

The five-year-old got into difficulty after the inflatable lilo on which she was floating swept her away from the shoreline.

The Irish Coast Guard was notified and units from the Howth RNLI, as well as the Dublin Fire Brigade (DFB) rushed to the scene.

But as the emergency operation got under way, the girl was brought to shore by three teenagers who came to her aid after noticing her in difficulty.

Paramedics treated the young girl at the scene before she was transferred to Temple Street Children’s Hospital.

Her condition has been described as non-life-threatening.

“The child is obviously in a bit of shock and it was distressing for everyone involved, but thankfully there weren’t any serious injuries,” a source said.

The rescue operation invol­ved a number of lifeboats from the Howth RNLI, Rescue 116 and the DFB.

In a Twitter post, the DFB said: “Multi-agency response to Portmarnock after reports of a child in difficulty.”

Units from Kilbarrack and Swords fire stations attended the scene while a lifeboat brought advanced paramedics to the scene.

The DFB praised the efforts of their colleagues in the other emergency services for the teamwork during the co-­ordinated operation.

The beach was busy at the time due to the hot weather.

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