Casualty visits Dart RNLI to thank volunteers who saved his life
A kayaker has visited Dart RNLI to thanks the volunteers who saved his life following a fall that broke his neck and his back.
Neil Bascombe was on the first full day of his family holiday to Kingsbridge in June last year (2024) and exploring the coves around Blackpool Sands near Dartmouth when he decided to take a break and ring his son Jason, who was on a nearby beach.
The office partitioner paddled his kayak between two rocks to moor but after climbing out he slipped and fell, fracturing his spine and neck, and suffering concussion after hitting his head.
Neil and his wife Jackie, from Poole, made a special trip to meet the crew and pass on his gratitude on Saturday (Aug 23), just a few days after the rescue featured on the BBC show Saving Lives at Sea.
‘If I hadn't been rescued I wouldn't be here, I would have drowned,’ he said.
‘The RNLI were fantastic, and we are both so grateful. There was no other way I was getting off those rocks without them.
‘I don’t remember much of it at all but at first I was upside down with my head in the water and recall telling myself not to breathe in. I managed to haul myself on to a flat rock. But my phone had gone into the sea. I was in so much pain, and soon very, very cold.
‘Everything hurt. I couldn’t lift my head up or keep my eyes open. I had blood on my legs, my shirt was shredded and there was a wound on my head.’
His son Marcus, who was out on his paddleboard, was out of sight when his father fell, but eventually found him lying on the rocks.
After trying and failing to get him back on the kayak, he moved his father further away from the water and put him in a foetal position.
Marcus then went to alert the rest of the family, who called the Coastguard, and returned with his brother Jason on the front of his paddleboard.
‘I was getting colder and colder, the sun had disappeared,’ said Neil. ‘I had never been so cold in my life and I couldn’t move my arms or my legs.
‘Jason tried to make me more comfortable while Marcus went out to help guide the lifeboat to where I was. Their response time was so quick.
‘A wave covered me and water went in my mouth. I couldn’t wait any longer and said they had to move me now. I knew it was going to hurt - and that was before I knew I had broken five vertebrae.’
Dart RNLI’s D Class volunteer lifeboat crew were first on the scene and managed to move Neil on to a stretcher. He was then transferred to the waiting Atlantic 85 lifeboat and transported to Dartmouth Embankment.
‘They were brilliant’, added Neil. ‘I was so relieved when I knew I was not going to freeze to death. They did their utmost to keep me comfortable.’
Neil was taken to Torbay Hospital by ambulance and spent a week undergoing treatment and tests. It was only after returning home that further investigations revealed three breaks in his neck and two in his spine.
Neil is still recovering more than a year later, and he and Jackie were delighted to meet up with the crew in Dartmouth.
‘We just want to thank everyone from the RNLI and others involved in the rescue,’ he added.
‘We are an island nation and will always need people like the RNLI. They are a fantastic bunch of people.’
Volunteer Rich Eggleton, who helmed the B Class lifeboat during the rescue, said: ‘It was great for the crew to meet Neil and Jackie as we are always keen to know how a casualty recovers. It was not a straightforward rescue and we are all thrilled that Neil is well on the road to recovery.’
RNLI Media Contacts
For more information, contact Dart Lifeboat Press Officer, Dominic Hart on [email protected] or 07767 764 144. Alternatively, you can contact the RNLI Press Office on [email protected] or 01202336789.
Key facts about the RNLI
The RNLI is the charity that 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 146,700 lives.
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