A lifeboat search for a missing kayaker was put in jeopardy when a blinding green light from a laser pen was shone at the crew.

Whitsable RNLI say the lives of its volunteers, plus the person struggling in the sea, could have been in danger.

The lifeboat had launched on Saturday night to look for a person who had not returned to shore and who had last been seen off Hampton Pier, in Herne Bay.

The crew left around 8.30pm and were three-quarters of a mile offshore between Swalecliffe and Hampton when the green light was shone at them, hampering their work.

Dave Parry, lifeboat helmsman, said: "We suspect this was a deliberate act as the individual involved would have seen the lights of the lifeboat."

“Fortunately we we able to continue the search investigating various radar contacts and located the casualty, a 26-year old male, paddling towards the shore half-a-mile north of old Herne Bay pier head."

He was brought back to Hampton on the lifeboat and paddled his way back to the shore, where a Herne Bay Coastguard Unit and family members were waiting.

Mike Judge, Whitstable Lifeboat operations manager added: "The lifeboat had been tasked to search for the kayaker in the dark up to two miles offshore and the search was hampered by an individual directing a laser pen light towards the crews field of vision.

"To shine a laser light into anyone's eyes is a dangerous thing, but to shine this onto a crew at sea in the dark is not only dangerous for the them, but also to the person for whom they are searching and this was a totally irresponsible act."

The four-man crew - Dave Parry, Andy Williams, Tim Smith and Liam Sidders were not harmed.