A YOUNG woman was rescued in sub-zero temperatures from Gorleston golf course in the early hours on Saturday .She was treated for hypothermia after her core temperature dropped to 32.

A YOUNG woman was rescued in sub-zero temperatures from Gorleston golf course in the early hours on Saturday .

She was treated for hypothermia after her core temperature dropped to 32.5C. Staff at the James Paget University Hospital said that if she had not been found she might have been dead within two hours because of the severe weather.

Her discovery came after two sea anglers heard her distressed calls while fishing at Hopton, near Yarmouth, in the early hours of Saturday.

A full-scale search was launched and the coastguard mobilised its Gorleston and Lowestoft teams to search the beach and cliffs while Gorleston lifeboat was launched to survey the sea close to shore.

The 26-year-old local woman was eventually found at 3.30am on Gorleston golf course by a security guard from Hopton Holiday Village who had joined the search.

The coastguard teams administered first aid to the woman, and then carried her in their four-wheel drive vehicle to a waiting ambulance.

It is thought the woman had gone for a walk on the beach after spending the evening at a local night spot.

Yarmouth coastguard watch manager Dave Moore said: “With a wind chill of about -6C and with the strong wind and higher than usual tide, the beach was a very hostile environment.

“If it was not for the vigilance of the security guard at Hopton and the two anglers the outcome could have been much worse.”