Hartlepool RNLI volunteers were paged at 10.40pm on Monday 6 February to take a Royal Navy bomb disposal team to a 13 metre fishing boat with two people on board approximately five miles off Hartlepool that had trawled a wartime mine.
RNLI/Tom Collins
Hartlepool RNLI all-weather lifeboat heading out to sea with the bomb disposal team on board
The all-weather lifeboat launched at 11.1pm and arrived on scene at 11.25pm where they transferred the bomb disposal team and their equipment to the fishing boat to inspect the ordnance.
The all-weather lifeboat returned to the Ferry Road boathouse with the bomb disposal team at 1.10am and was refuelled and made ready for service by 1.40am.
Hartlepool RNLI Deputy Launch Authority Steve Pounder said: 'Unfortunately the bomb disposal team who had travelled from Scotland were unable to launch their own boat due to the low tide so we took them to sea to deal with the ordnance, which they secured and left on the seabed to be dealt with in the daylight and then allow both our boat with the Navy team back on board and the fishing boat to return to Hartlepool safely.'
Hartlepool RNLI coxswain Robbie Maiden added: 'There was some good teamwork from my crew transferring the bomb disposal team and equipment to and from the all-weather boat. Assisting the Royal Navy at sea helped bring the incident to a satisfactory end.'
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.