
Lyme Regis RNLI lifeboat launches to couple in difficulty on the Dorset coast
Volunteers from Lyme Regis RNLI launched last evening (3 August) to go to the aid of a couple reported to be in difficulty on the coast between Charmouth and Golden Cap, very close to St Gabriel’s mouth.
The crew launched their Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat Spirit of Loch Fyne at 7:15 pm in response to a page from HM Coastguard. They were quickly on scene and found the couple and their two dogs. Two of the volunteers swam ashore to ashore to assess the couple and to administer casualty care. They found that the male casualty (aged 46) was cold, exhausted and in need of urgent medical assistance. He was therefore helped onto the lifeboat which then returned at best speed to Lyme Regis harbour and the care of a waiting paramedic team.
With the male casualty was safely ashore in Lyme Regis the lifeboat volunteers returned to St Gabriel’s Mouth to collect the female casualty and the couple's two dogs. This was achieved by 8:20 pm when the lifeboat finally returned to harbour.
Volunteer lifeboat Helm Tom Crabbe said: ‘The casualties were in quite a tricky position which meant that a land ambulance was not able to reach them. They were cold after swimming and needed be to be taken out by lifeboat. The condition of the male casualty meant that he had to extracted as a priority.’
The RNLI advises that where possible you should swim on a lifeguarded beach. It is also important to remember that even in the height of summer the sea around the UK is cold enough to lower your core body temperature after only a few minutes.
This was the 23rd service call Lyme Regis RNLI volunteers have responded to in 2024, the year in which the lifesaving charity celebrates in 200th anniversary.
Ends
Notes to editors
-
Phot 1 – Crew of Lyme Regis RNLI inshore lifeboat searching the coast to the east of Lyme Regis. Photo credit: RNLI/Nick Marks
RNLI media contacts
For more information, please contact Nick Marks volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer at Lyme Regis Lifeboat Station on 07568 187582 or [email protected], or Emma Haines, Regional Communications Manager, on 07786 668847 or [email protected], or contact the RNLI Press Office on 01202 336789.
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, Twitter 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.