The man had spent the night sleeping on the beach at Barmouth before resuming canoeing on Thursday morning.

He was unaware his friends had reported him missing after he failed to meet them in Barmouth on Wednesday afternoon after leaving Aberystwyth earlier.

The rescue services had resumed searching for him after a four lifeboats, two helicopters and four ground search teams had failed to locate him on Wednesday night.

The second search began around Cricieth and Shell Island where a signal was reported to have been picked up from the man's mobile phone.

The man was found about three miles north of Tywyn.

The area in which the man had been canoeing was subject to squally winds around the time he went missing.