Mystery item prompting rescue was Baby Yoda balloon

A mystery object which sparked a rescue off the Northumberland coast was found to be a floating Baby Yoda balloon.

Volunteers from Craster RNLI were called to Embleton Bay after a member of the public raised the alarm on Monday evening.

The charity said the person who reported it had done the right thing as it could easily have been a kite surfer in distress.

People on social media praised the team, with one commenting, “may the tide be with you”.

The four-person crew was paged just after 18:00 BST by the coastguard, to search for a large silver object that had been reported in the water.

When the team arrived they quickly found the balloon, which was deflated, and returned safely back to shore.

“The Millennium Falcon had obviously left the scene,” said volunteer Andy Cowan.

"We respond to everything - the mystery object could have been a kite surfer, a paraglider or a water sports enthusiast."

Follow BBC North East on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].