Reports of body spark Redcar RNLI launch

UK Coastguard requested the immediate launch of the lifeboat at 4.18pm and the lifeboat was in the water four minutes later. Guided by police officers on the beach, the volunteer crew searched between 50 and 100 metres offshore in an area where local fishermen store crabs and lobsters in keep boxes attached to plastic marker buoys.

After a thorough search it was concluded that the emergency call had been triggered by a sighting of one of the marker buoys or keep boxes, and UK Coastguard stood down the lifeboat.

Lifeboat helmsman Cameron Bond said: ‘We searched the whole area pointed out to us by police officers on the beach who were with the first informant.

‘We were right amongst the keep boxes, and once we’d checked out the location we were happy that there was no one in difficulties.’

Dave Cocks, Lifeboat Operations Manager at Redcar RNLI said: ”It is always best to contact UK Coastguard if someone is thought to be in difficulties in the sea or on the beach. We would much rather deal with false alarms like this than have to deal with a fatality.’

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The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.

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