TWO men had to be escorted back to shore by the Coastguard after attempting a fort walk tonight (Monday).

Bembridge RNLI's Inshore Lifeboat (RNLB Norman Harvey) was launched to locate and assist the men, who had been reported as being in difficulty returning from walking to St Helens Fort.

The lifeboat left at 7.30pm at the request of Solent Coastguard.

They quickly found the men, who had made their way safely ashore and were being escorted back to the beach by Bembridge Coastguard Rescue Team, the lifeboat team said.

The crew checked there was no one else on or around the fort, before returning to the lifeboat station by 8pm.

The public have been repeatedly asked by Coastguard not to attempt the walks to the fort this year. In previous years, the route has been walked at specific low tides by hundreds of people at a time.

However, despite the pleas, there have still been Coastguard call-outs this year.