Anglers and speedboat missing in Firth of Forth during force 10 gale

A man and a boy have gone missing on a speedboat in gale-force weather while fishing on the Firth of Forth.

A man and a boy have gone missing on a speedboat in gale-force weather while fishing on the Firth of Forth.

Rescue teams suspended their search for the man, 34, and his neighbour, 16, last night and were to reassess the situation this morning.

The missing pair, from the Falkirk area of Scotland, failed to return home on Saturday evening. Their 15ft fibreglass-hulled speedboat does not have a radio and coastguard calls to their mobile phone have gone unanswered.

They had left Blackness near South Queensferry at 6am on Saturday. It is believed that they had planned to fish near the Forth bridges. Their car and trailer were still parked in Blackness.

An air and sea search was launched involving lifeboats, coastguard teams and an RAF rescue helicopter based at Prestwick.

The search was stepped up at first light yesterday to span an area of 2,400 square miles with 100 personnel involved, coastguards said.

A search and rescue helicopter from RAF Boulmer in Northumberland was called in to sweep the east coast of northern England and as far as Montrose in Scotland as the boat could have drifted out to sea.

"This sounds drastic but it is possible they may have drifted out into the sea," said John Mayston, a Forth Coastguard watch officer.

Winds had reached gale force 10 on Saturday night as the weather deteriorated. But Mr Mayston said: "These types of boats are not known for sinking and if the pair were going on a fishing trip they would have been wrapped up to keep warm anyway."