A charity rower on a solo voyage across the Atlantic has been evacuated off his boat after he suffered a serious injury in a fall onboard.

Niall Iain Macdonald of Stornoway set off from New York eight days ago in a bid to row 3,400 miles across the ocean to Scotland.

The 39-year-old Gaelic radio and TV presenter was taken off his row boat by a coastguard cutter.

He arrived back onshore on Saturday morning (UK time).

UK coastguards say he injured his back. Hebrides News understands he may also have suffered a head injury. His condition is not known at present.

His specialist seven-metre long row boat, called the Alliance Trust, has been abandoned and is now drifting at sea off the east coast of America.

UK Coastguards said his position was logged as 100 miles east of New York though one US report suggests he was 50 miles off the nearest coast.

Boston coastguards sped to his rescue after an internationally co-ordinated alert.

Niall Iain made the urgency call via a satellite phone link to Falmouth Coastguard - the UK’s co-ordination station for international alerts - at 8.26pm (UK time) on Friday.

A coastguard spokesperson said their information was Niall Iain had injured his back in a fall, 100 miles out at sea.

She added: “We passed the information on to RCC (Coastguard Rescue Co-ordination Centre) in Norfolk, our counterparts in the USA.”

The emergency was taken over by a Boston coastguard patrol vessel.

The Falmouth spokesperson said: “The casualty was collected by a coastguard cutter.”

She said Niall Iain’s row boat was “now abandoned.”

Having experienced depression in the past, Inverness-born adventurer, Niall Iain, took on the mammoth challenge to support the Scottish Association for Mental Health charity which provides help, information and support for people with mental health problems.

He had hoped to raise £100,000 for the charity.

Atlantic rower Niall Iain Macdonald rescued at sea 14/6/14