By Mike Merritt

A family of six has been rescued by a “Hogwarts Express” in a remote part of Scotland.

The family, including four children, had rowed across Loch Eilt in Lochaber on Thursday.

But their boat got blown away in a storm leaving them stranded.

They took refuge in a bothy and yesterday raised the alarm at around 11.30am with police, who then told coastguards.

“They were quite near the railway line so the Jacobite steam train was contacted and they picked them up and took them to Mallaig,” said a spokeswoman for Stornoway Coastguard.

“They were well after the Harry Potter train came to their rescue.”

The train runs a seasonal morning service, Monday to Friday, until October 27 and uses carriages similar to those in the Harry Potter series of films.

The Jacobite runs a distance of 41 miles between Fort William and Mallaig, passing through an area of great scenic beauty including Glenfinnan Viaduct and Arisaig.

The route is also the same shown in the Harry Potter films.

The company running the Jacobite service provided Warner Brothers with the train used as the Hogwarts Express in all of the movies and allowed them use of the Jacobite’s route for filming.

The locomotive used to pull the Hogwarts Express in the films, the GWR 4900 Class 5972 Olton Hall, is presently located at Warner Bros.

The Glenfinnan Viaduct on the route has been used as a location in several films and television series.