Rescuers have said searches for two teenagers and a man feared drowned off the coast of West Wales have been scaled back.

On Monday, RNLI teams continued looking for the boys, aged 14 and 15, who have not been seen since getting into difficulty while swimming off Barmouth Beach on Sunday.

In a separate incident, rescue crews were also out again looking for a man who was swept off a rock and into the water near Mwnt in Cardigan Bay.

But a Coastguard spokeswoman said the searches have had to be reduced because of the high tide.

She said rescue crews were expected to be re-deployed this evening when the tide is low.


Image: Pic: Shon Hughes

An RNLI spokeswoman confirmed boats that had been helping have now been told to stand down.

She said: "The volunteer lifeboat crews at both Barmouth RNLI and Cardigan RNLI will be ready to launch the lifeboats again if requested by HM Coastguard."

The two incidents happened just 20 minutes apart on Sunday afternoon and during strong winds and "choppy" waters.

Emergency services were first contacted about the missing teenagers at around 1.40pm.

Image: A map showing the location of Barmouth, North Wales.

The pair, believed to be from the Birmingham area, had been part of a large group visiting the beauty spot.

A Coastguard spokeswoman said: "There were two people in difficulty and another person in their same group went in to help.

"That person managed to get out of the water - both the other two were still in difficulty."

Then at around 2pm, a fresh 999 call was made after a man cut off by the tide was swept into the sea.

Searches carried on for another seven hours, but stopped once darkness fell before restarting again early this morning.