Three boys had to be rescued from marshland during the early hours of this morning after going for a walk and getting lost.

The trio, who were on holiday at the Haven holiday park in Allhallows, set off from the site and walked along the sea wall for about 10 miles until they reached Cliffe Fort, before they dialed 999 for help.

It is believed the boys, aged 14,15, and 16, had set off from the caravan park at about 4pm the previous afternoon and had no water, coats or food with them.

Shortly before 1am this morning, one of the teenagers dialed 999 on his mobile asking for help, but could not tell operators where they were.

All the boys could tell the emergency services operator was that they could see large chimneys on the other side of the river Thames, thought to be a power station in Tilbury, Essex.

The Medway Coastguard team and the Gravesend Lifeboat crew were called out to the area to start searching for the missing boys, who are from the Bexleyheath and Sidcup areas.

The coastguard team and the lifeboat crew started their search shortly before 1am this morning, both on land and from the sea and finally located the boys at about 3.30am.

All three had to be taken to Medway Maritime Hospital after becoming dehydrated and cold. It is believed their parents were alerted when they were found and met them at the Gillingham hospital.

Richard Rodgers, deputy Station officer, said: “The temperature had dropped during the night and the boys had no coats nor drink with them either.

"They were very dehydrated and so were taken to the hospital for treatment, they are lucky boys as their mobile phone had almost run out of power and they had walked a long way along the sea wall - it’s quite some miles.

“They couldn't tell us where they were, but from the description they gave, we thought they were opposite Tilbury power station as they could see the big chimneys.

“We started off the search from the Gravesend area and headed in the Medway direction along the sea wall for about three miles until we found them.

"The message is, if you are going to wander off, then let your parents know where you are going and how long you expect to be.

"You should always take a drink with you when you are walking too and make sure your mobile phone is topped up full of power."