THE first call out of 2019 for a lifeboat team started as a bit of a mystery after a report of a 'large black object' or 'figure' in the water.

Abersoch RNLI were paged shortly after 12.30pm on Saturday, January 5.

The object/figure was in waters off Llanbedrog. The crew located the item which turned out to be a large empty cable drum.

A spokesperson for the lifeboat service said: "The crews were paged shortly after 12.30pm to a report of a large black object/figure in the water in the distance off Llanbedrog Headland.

"On route the crew removed a large piece of plastic debris - around 5ft long - from the water and continued towards the object.

"The crew located the object, a large empty cable drum, the sort which have become fashionable for large outdoor tables.

"The drum was a navigation hazard given it could have severely damaged a boat and so the crew removed it from the water and returned to station."