Christmas Day callout for Tynemouth RNLI lifeboat volunteer crew members
Christmas Day callout for Tynemouth RNLI lifeboat volunteer crew members
Lifeboats News Release
Volunteer crew members at Tynemouth RNLI lifeboat station had their Christmas Day festivities interrupted when they were requested to launch the station's inshore and all weather lifeboats.
RNLI/Adrian Don
Tynemouth RNLI volunteer crew members board the station's Severn class all weather lifeboat 'Spirit of Northumberland' as they prepare to launch on Christmas Day 2019
The request to launch the lifeboats was made shortly before 5pm by UK Coastguard's Humber Operations Centre following a request for assistance from Northumbria Police who were dealing with an incident on cliffs at Trow Point, South Shields.
The two lifeboats with a total of nine volunteers stood off the coast in support of the operation while members of the South Shields Volunteer Life Brigade and Sunderland Coastguard Rescue Team stood by on shore to assist Police officers and Paramedics from the North East Ambulance Service Hazardous Area Response (HART) Team.
The incident continued until 7.35pm when all emergency services were stood down.
The RNLI lifeboats arrived back at station at 7.40pm allowing the volunteers to carry on with their Christmas celebrations once the lifeboats had been made ready for service again.
Adrian Don, spokesman for Tynemouth RNLI, said 'Our volunteer crew members are on standby, ready to launch our lifeboats to any situation on or near the sea, 24/7, 365 days of the year, and Christmas Day is no exception, with those volunteers giving up many of the traditional Christmas festivities to remain on call.'
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Adrian Don, Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer at Tynemouth RNLI, can be contacted on 07834 731833
Key facts about the RNLI
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.
