A 28-year-old man rescued from a north-east beach was taken to hospital amid fears he may have suffered a spinal injury.
Coastguard rescue teams and the air ambulance were called to Fraserburgh beach to assist with the rescue at 5.35am on Saturday.
A spokesman for HM Coastguard said: “Officers from our Fraserburgh and Peterhead teams were tasked by Aberdeen Coastguard operations centre to assist the Scottish Ambulance Service and North East Police Division with the evacuation of a male casualty from Fraserburgh beach.
“Once on scene it was established the casualty was a few miles away from a suitable extraction point.
“With the potential for the casualty to have suffered a spinal injury the decision was made to request helicopter extraction.
“A landing site was established and the helicopter was landed on the beach allowing swift transfer of the casualty.
“R151 proceeded to the emergency helicopter landing site at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary where officers from our Aberdeen team had prepared the site and assisted with transfer of the casualty back into the care of the ambulance service and into accident and emergency.
“Teams remained on the scene until around 8.50am.”
A Police Scotland spokeswoman added: “We received reports of a concern for person near the beach in Fraserburgh. Emergency services attended and 28-year-old man was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary by the Scottish Ambulance Service.”