A 1200-tonne cargo ship has been rescued off the coast of Skye.

A lifeboat crew from Kyle of Lochalsh arrived shortly after 8am on Sunday morning, with another crew from Mallaig launching shortly after.

The 65 metre CEG universe was heading through the Kylerhea Narrows between Skye and Glenelg when its rudder broke.

The vessel was carrying a cargo of road salt to Gairloch.

The ship used it anchor to attempt to hold position against the eight-knot tide before it failed.

The two lifeboats took the vessel under tow and held it against the current as it began to drift backwards.

Tugboat the SD Kyle of Lochalsh from the British Underwater Test and Evaluation Centre military testing range in Kyle arrived at 10.15am.

The tug and lifeboats then manoeuvred the vessel through the narrows and towed it into Kyle Harbour shortly after noon.

Andrew MacDonald, of the Kyle of Lochalsh lifeboat, said: "There's not much room in the Narrows and with the length of the vessel we weren't far from the shore but with the power of bigger Mallaig lifeboat we were able to hold in position.

"It was thanks to the SD Kyle of the Lochalsh that we managed to get it out, without them we would have really struggled to get it out the Narrows."