St.Agnes and St.Ives RNLI Lifeboats search for a person entering the water

The St.Agnes Lifeboat Team were paged at 8.20pm, on Monday 6 April 2020, to Perranporth, following a report from a member of the public, that they could see a person walking into the sea at Perranporth.

The lifeboat proceeded in fading light conditions, with Helm, Gavin Forehead and crew, Paul Fisher and Trev Garland, towards Perranporth.

The St.Agnes Station Duty Launching Authority requested backup of the St.Ives All Weather Lifeboat, due to the fading light, as a support for the St.Agnes Lifeboat. St.Ives RNLI ALB, launched, to proceed towards Perranporth. The St.Agnes and Newquay Coastguard Search and Rescue Teams were also tasked and they all proceeded to the area, with the additional support of Police Officers from Devon and Cornwall Constabulary.

On arrival, the lifeboat conducted a search of the area around Droskyn and Perranporth Beach, and the HM Coastguard Teams and Police, began searching the beach, in the area the person was last seen. The Newquay Coastguard Team and Police located two males on the beach and identified that they were the people who had been in the water.

All RNLI and Coastguard assets were stood down as soon as it was confirmed that these were the persons that had been observed.

The St.Agnes RNLI Lifeboat was re-housed and ready for service at 9.30pm.

The RNLI would like to take this opportunity to remind the public that the rollout of RNLI lifeguard patrols on beaches has been paused until further notice following the restrictions introduced by the Government on 23 March.

Our charity’s lifeboat service is still available 24/7 but every time a lifeboat crew is called to an incident, it puts additional pressure on our volunteers and other front line services as well as potentially exposing them to COVID-19.

We know people who live at the coast still want to exercise by the sea, but when you do this, please think of the potential impact of your actions on RNLI lifeboat volunteers and other emergency services.

For further information and safety advice if you are considering heading for the coast, please see the RNLI Advice:

https://rnli.org/safety/beach-safety

RNLI media contacts

For more information please telephone Paul Kimberley, RNLI volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer on 07867160594 or [email protected] or contact the RNLI Press Office on 01202 336789.

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For more information on the RNLI please visit rnli.org. News releases and other media resources, including RSS feeds, downloadable photos and video, are available at the RNLI News Centre rnli.org/news-and-media.

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 over 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 142,200 lives.

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.

Learn more about the RNLI

For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, X, TikTok and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.

Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries

Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.