AN air and sea rescue mission will resume today for a missing couple from Burnley who were last seen buying a kayak in the Channel Islands.

The couple, in their mid to late 20s, were staying at a camp site in Rozel Bay, Jersey, when they obtained the craft.

Island police believe they set off from the bay late on Friday, hoping to reach rocky outcrops known as Ecrehouse, located nearby.

But the alarm was raised at around 11am yesterday (Tues) when the couple had not been seen for nearly four days.

Last night they were named by the authorities as Andrew Keeble and Hannah Tye, of Healeywood Road, Burnley, Police and coastguard officers from Guernsey and France were joined by the Channel Islands air rescue service and local lifeboat crews.

But bad weather eventually grounded air and sea rescue craft.

Insp Dave Birmingham, of the State of Jersey Police said that the rescue operation was being reviewed today by all of the agencies involved.

He said: "We were notified about this incident at around 11am yesterday and that is when the police and involvement of other agencies began."

He described the Ecrehous as a series of rocky outcrops - home to a number of holiday chalets but otherwise not permanently inhabited.

Insp Birmingham said police officers had visited the address in Burnley where the couple are believed to live and have not been able to find out any more information about them to date.

Locals say the seas between Rozel Bay and Ecrehouse are particularly choppy, even for sailors in larger vessels. The kayak purchased by the couple is believed to have been inflatable.

Anyone who has any information on the couple - or their possible whereabouts - is asked to call Jersey police on 01534 612612.