Busy week for Weston-super-Mare RNLI culminates with five rescues in one day

During the week the station received a number of taskings to a variety of incidents, including assisting with a search and rescue around Kewstoke cliffs, two swimmers in difficulty who managed to self recover, a recovery of two young fishermen cut of by the tide on Birnbeck Island and a climber who had fallen down cliffs at Middle Hope Cove, north of Sandbay.

However, little did crew know they were about to have an even busier weekend. With temperatures reaching 33 degrees many people flocked to Weston beach to take advantage of the sunshine. On Saturday 12 July with low tide at 2.20pm, many visitors were drawn to the shoreline in the hope of reaching the water to cool down.

Due to the large tidal range in the Bristol Channel the tide retreats a considerable distance, exposing a large expense of mud flats.

On Saturday 12 July at 3.50pm the lifeboat was paged by the HM Coastguard to reports of three people stuck in the mud at Sandbay. Also tasked to support were the teams Avon and Somerset Search and Rescue mud teams and helicopter and the Avon Fire and Rescue’s hovercraft, Firefly.

RNLI crew members were first at the scene to check on their wellbeing. The helicopter stayed at distance to avoid any complications with downdraft. Crew were able to find a sandier, firmer section of the mud for casualties to sit on, while all teams worked together to decide on the quickest way to return them to safety. The casualties were then extracted by the hovercraft.

Dave Riddout, Weston RNLI D class volunteer helm, said: ‘The tide was coming back in fast and only about 20 minutes away from them, even if they weren’t stuck the time and effort it takes to wade through the mud there’s no way they would get back to beach before ending up in the water.'

Immediately after leaving the scene, the lifeboat was tasked to a person stuck in the mud at Uphill and then four people stuck in the mud between the Grand Pier and Ferris wheel – assisted by the lifeboat crew, the casualties were rescued by the hover craft.

When returning to the station, the lifeboat crew noticed two young teenagers at the shoreline who were too exhausted to get back to the beach. They were picked up by the lifeboat and returned to the Cove jetty where a RNLI vehicle drove them back to the station.

On Saturday evening around 10.15pm the crew received another call out to support a search at Berrow Beach and on Sunday 13 at around 9.52pm the crew were called to support a search of Brean Down.

In total, RNLI lifeboat crew at Weston had a total of 11 shouts in seven days, seven of which were over the weekend - one on Friday, five on Saturday, and one on Sunday.

Dave continued: ‘This was a multi agency approach to multiple incidents, it was a crazy a few hours in the blistering heat but the whole search and rescue team worked efficiently together to successfully rescue all those who needed help.’

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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