Whitstable RNLI warning after teenagers reach derelict Herne Bay pier head

Lifeboat Helm Ruth Oliver said “We arrived ‘on scene’ and fortunately observed two males approximately 50-metres from the end of the Neptune Jetty. They were making their way through the shallow water and were met by the Herne Bay Coastguard Rescue Team at the low water mark and escorted ashore”.

“We would strongly advise against attempting to swim or walk out to the old pier head which is over a ½-mile offshore”.

“Very often the pier head looks closer than it really is and attempting to reach it is extremely dangerous given the currents and soft mud”.

The pier was once the second longest in the UK. It was destroyed in a storm in 1978 and dismantled in 1980 leaving only a short section at the landward end.

Weather conditions at the time of the incident were force 3 southerly winds.

On its return to station the crew and shore crew spent considerable time in cleaning down the launching tractor and carriage due to the low water launch and recovery.

There have now been 37 calls on the volunteer crews at Whitstable RNLI.

Notes to editors

· Whitstable RNLI Lifeboat Station was established in 1963 by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and is one of 237 lifeboat stations around the shores of the UK and Ireland. The volunteer crews provide a maritime search and rescue service for the Kent coast. They cover the area between the Kingsferry Bridge on the Swale, in the west, around the south-eastern side of Sheppey and along the coast through Whitstable and Herne Bay to Reculver in the east and outwards into the Thames Estuary.

· The station is equipped with an Atlantic 85 lifeboat named Lewisco, purchased through a bequest of a Miss Lewis of London who passed away in 2006.

·She is what is known as a rigid inflatable inshore lifeboat, the boat’s rigid hull being topped by an inflatable sponson. She carries a crew of four people.

·RNLI media contacts

· Chris Davey, Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer, Whitstable Lifeboat Station.
07741 012004/ [email protected]

· Julie Rainey - Regional Communications Lead : 07827 358256

· Hatti Mellor - Regional Communications Manager :07724 801305

For enquiries outside normal business hours, contact the RNLI duty press officer 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.