Man with heat stress rescued by Lyme Regis RNLI lifeboat crew

The lifeboat crew launched at 2:50pm in response to a tasking request from HM Coastguard and, with calm sea conditions, were quickly on scene. They were met by a family on the beach who were caring for the casualty by keeping him cool and hydrated. Concerned for the casualty’s welfare, the family had correctly alerted the Coastguard by dialling 999.

Unable to beach their lifeboat because of the rocky shoreline, two of the lifeboat crew swam ashore to assess the situation and administer casualty care whilst the lifeboat helm returned to Lyme Regis to collect additional crew and the lifeboat station’s small X-boat dinghy.

Once the lifeboat had returned to the scene the X-boat was used to ferry the casualty from beach to lifeboat. The lifeboat volunteers then recovered the casualty to Lyme Regis where he was handed into the care of waiting paramedics.

The casualty had set off at 10:00 that morning from Charmouth to walk eastwards along the beach in search of fossils. In the high air temperature and tiring walking conditions he had become overheated and dehydrated. Luckily, he was spotted by a family enjoying a day out on the beach with their boat.

One of the lifeboat crew volunteers who swam ashore was Cris Cadby who said; ‘When we made our way ashore we found the casualty being well cared for by a very kind family who were fanning him to keep him cool and had placed him in in their beach tent to give him some shade. He owes a lot to this family. Had they not been there he would have been in serious difficulty.’

The RNLI recommends that in hot weather walkers follow the NHS advice and stay in the shade if possible and wear sunscreen, a hat and light clothing. Drink plenty of cold drinks to keep hydrated and avoid alcohol, caffeine and hot drinks.

This was the 15th service call for the lifesaving charity’s volunteers this year.

Notes to editors:

Photo captions:

Lyme Regis Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat ‘Spirit of Loch Fyne’ approaching the beach near Golden Cap. 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.