26 December 2010 Last updated at 05:58 ET

Three rescued from fishing boat near Thurso

The Kingfisher was brought back to Scrabster Harbour after being freed

Three crew members were rescued from a fishing boat which ran aground in the River Thurso on Christmas Day.

The alarm was raised when the Kingfisher became stuck on rocks below Thurso Castle at about 0020 GMT.

Thurso lifeboat was called out. It took three of the five crew members from the vessel and brought them back to shore.

Local coastguard teams continued to monitor the situation until the Kingfisher could be towed free from the rocks shortly after 1000 GMT.

The lifeboat then brought the vessel, which had more than nine tons of live crab on board, back to Scrabster Harbour.