Hunstanton RNLI lifesavers reflect on busy period of water rescues

Beach-goers have been warned after RNLI volunteers were called out on 11 separate occasions last week.

On Thursday the crew rescued a paddle boarder off Hunstanton, and on Saturday they saved two girls on an inflatable and a swimmer who had come to their aid.

On Sunday they were called out to 11 young adults who had been cut off by the tide on Scolt Head Island, Brancaster.

These were just the worst of a total of 11 shouts where people’s lives had been in danger.

All this happened on the same weekend that a youngster drowned across the sea at Skegness.

Even though there are many signs regarding beach safety, Geoff Needham from Hunstanton RNLI said people easily get out of their depth and it is then the job of the crews to rescue them.

He said the two girls who were swept out to sea on Saturday were on what was described as a paddling pool.

He added: “Any inflatables are subject to wind and they should never have been on them.

“With the breeze they are lethal and move really quickly, acting like a sail and away they go. The girls had swallowed a fair bit of water and an ambulance was needed to take them and the man who tried to help them to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Lynn.

“They were shocked, it was quite an ordeal.”

Mr Needham said the hot weather has meant an influx of people and the bigger the tide the further out they go.

“They run out of time with the high tides at 8pm and get cut off.

“Some older teenagers managed to swim ashore in the Sunday incident, but when things go wrong they go wrong quickly.

“Scolt Head has always been an issue and still people get caught out in the sand channels which come in on both sides. The big tides come in at a rate of knots.”

Mr Needham also gave praise to the crew in their response to serious incidents happening on Saturday night, where paddle boarders had got into difficulty and a family of three got out of their depth while the tide was coming in fast.

He said: “Everybody at the RNLI are volunteers and we publicise the dangers and have regular Sunday morning sea safety sessions with our education team.

“There are notices everywhere which are graphic so should be understood.

“Hopefully a lot of people who attend these will go away with their badge and realise what they need to do.

“There was a fatality at Skegness where a 15-year-old lost his life. The crew and the family have got to live with that.”