Jersey's all-weather lifeboat rescues three ballerinas

The three dancers, in Jersey as part of the troupe for the Saint Petersburg Classic Ballet, had walked out to Elizabeth Castle across the causeway yesterday evening . After visiting the castle they tried to return to St Helier by foot but found themselves being cut off by the rising tide.

The ballerinas had decided to walk the three quarters of a mile across the causeway to the Elisabeth Castle after finishing rehearsals on Tuesday ahead of the opening of their performances of Swan Lake and The Nutcracker on Wednesday.

Walking back to the main island of Jersey just after 7.30pm they realised that the tide was coming in rapidly and when the water started lapping around their ankles they soon realised that they were not going to make it across the causeway and headed back to Elisabeth Castle.

Helier de Veulle, the RNLI Lifeboat Press Officer on Jersey said: 'The Coastguard received a 999 call shortly before 7.40pm last night and alerted the all-weather lifeboat at St Helier. The lifeboat was already out on a training exercise and was able to be at the breakwater of Elisabeth Castle not long after 8pm.'

'They found the casualties by the breakwater where they were being looked after by the castle Guardian who had spotted them on CCTV and gone to their assistance. They were cold but had come to no serious harm and the St Helier all-weather lifeboat took them on board and returned them safely to Jersey'.

'It could have been a far more serious incident but once they realised that the tide was coming in rapidly they did the right things - they returned to dry land and raised the alarm on their mobile phone. We are just glad it was a successful rescue and we managed to get them back to Jersey ready for their opening night tonight.'

He added: "The coast can be a dangerous place and we would urge everyone who is planning on going for a walk along the coast to be extra careful and check the timings of the tides, to tell people where they are going and what time they will be back and also to carry a charged mobile phone.'

The all-weather lifeboat returned to station at 8.50pm.

This rescue is part of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution's continued commitment to Jersey. The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea. Our volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service in the United Kingdom and Ireland from 238 lifeboat stations. Additionally the RNLI has more than 1,000 lifeguards on over 240 beaches around the UK and operates a specialist flood rescue team, which can respond anywhere across the UK and Ireland when inland flooding puts lives at risk.

The RNLI relies on public donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. As a charity it is separate from, but works alongside, government-controlled and funded coastguard services. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824 our lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved at least 140,000 lives.

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For more information please contact Helier de Veulle, Lifeboat Press Officer, on 07797 847926.

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The RNLI is the charity that 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 146,700 lives.

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