THREE people were taken to hospital after getting into trouble in the water at Sandown Pier yesterday (Tuesday).

A young girl around ten years old got into difficulty in the sea and started panicking, so her sister, described as around 20, jumped in after her, a spokesman for UK Coastguard said.

"Unfortunately, the older sister was pulled under the water in the young girl's panic and two more adults from the beach went in to help," the coastguard spokesman said.

"It was a very chaotic scene with lots of screaming and shouting, but there was a rapid response by the emergency services."

Sandown RNLI lifeguards arrived, alongside Sandown and Shanklin Independent Lifeboat, Bembridge Coastguard Rescue Team and the IW Ambulance Service.

The sisters and the members of the public were able to make it out of the water and were checked over by the emergency crews.

Both the sisters and one of the members of the public were taken to hospital by ambulance for treatment for secondary drowning.