Morecambe’s lifeboat crew go to aid paramedics after Heysham cliff fall
At 7.45pm on Sunday 24 June 2018, HM Coastguard requested Morecambe’s RNLI volunteer lifeboat crew to assist paramedics, police and local coastguards who were responding to reports that an 8 year old boy had fallen from the cliffs behind St Peter’s church in Heysham.
Within 10 minutes of the request, the inshore rescue hovercraft was launched onto the flooding tide and proceeded to the scene. The volunteer crew then stood by until the Air Ambulance had successfully landed on the beach and the injured child evacuated to hospital; after which the hovercraft returned to station.
Hovercraft Commander Dave Smith said ‘In another 10 minutes, with the incoming tide, the Air Ambulance would have had insufficient room on the beach to land; in which case we would have taken the casualty on board and transported him to an appropriate transfer site.’
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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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