Weston RNLI Lifeboat saves three casualties and a dog at Brean Down

The first was on Friday evening when the Coastguard requested the lifeboat to launch to two men who were trying to launch an inflatable dinghy at Anchor Head. This was resolved quickly as the tide is so strong they would have lost control.

On Saturday afternoon the lifeboat was once again requested to go to the aid of some swimmers in difficulties off Marine Lake in Weston. Again this did not take long.

Later in the early evening Weston lifeboat crew launched both boats on service following a launch request by Milford Haven Coastguard. A report was received of three persons and a dog cut off by the tide on the rocks on the south side of Brean Down. There were also reports of a submerged car at a nearby location. The Burnham local coastguard could not reach the casualties because of the position they were in and the BARB hovercraft, from Burnham-on-Sea, could not launch due to tidal conditions.

The crew of the D class lifeboat Anna Stock located the casualties and assisted them across the rocks with help from the crew of the Atlantic 75 lifeboat who had also arrived on scene.

The three casualties and the dog were then helped into the lifeboats and transported to the slipway on Brean Beach where they were met by the Coastguard.

Both boats were then stood down and made their way back towards the station. En route, they were requested by the RNLI station staff to check on three people who had been seen in the water near the lifeboat station.

On Sunday morning the crew were paged as the police were concerned about a missing male possibly in the water by Sand Point. Before the lifeboat could be launched the male was found and the crew were able to stand down.

That evening the Burnham Coastguard once again asked for Weston RNLI to be paged as five people had been sighted on the rocks at the south side of Brean Down and cut off by the tide. Both lifeboats launched but on reaching the people they turned out to be experienced rock climbers who had the correct equipment and were in no danger. While the lifeboats were returning to the station they were tasked to search Sand Bay as an inflatable dinghy had been sighted there. They searched but did not find anything. It then transpired that the inflatable had been towed into Knightstone Harbour. Both boats retired to base and were prepared for the next call.

Mike Buckland, Lifeboat Operations Manager at Weston RNLI said: 'A busy weekend and some people helped. We always prefer to go and investigate anything which worries people. It does not matter if it turns out not to be a problem but let the Coastguard know if ever you are worried.’

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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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