A fundraising band concert at Burnham-On-Sea lifeboat station was interrupted for a call-out to help two teenagers in difficulty in a dinghy on Brean beach on Sunday (August 11th).
The Worlewind Band from Weston were just finishing setting up, at the lifeboat station, when the crew’s pagers went off.
Members of the public were cleared to a safe area, and normal launch preparations were quickly put into place.
The band proceeded to play, and atmospheric music, accompanied the Burnham Atlantic 85 lifeboat, Doris Day and Brian as the launching tractor and boat left for The Esplande and Burnham Jetty. The D class lifeboat Burnham Reach had already left for the beach.
Two girls had been reported being carried out to sea in an inflatable dinghy on the dropping tide. The D-class lifeboat volunteer crew discovered the partially-inflated dinghy being towed towards the beach by a gentleman in a kayak.
D-Class Helm Jason Coombes said: “We took the two girls on to our D class and transported them as close to the shore edge as possible. Burnham’s BARB rescue hovercraft was on the beach training so we requested their assistance in taking the cold and scared casualties back to the hard sand. This they did and handed them into the care of the Brean Beach Warden.”
During all this, the Atlantic 85 lifeboat had stood off to monitor and relay messages to Milford Haven Coastguard control. Both lifeboats were stood down and returned to Burnham-On-Sea. A good multi-agency rescue.
On their return, the lifeboat crews posed with the band conductor and key personnel, during the refreshment interval.
Around 100 people attended the concert. The warm summer weather ensured the outdoor concert’s success and the interval’s refreshments were well-appreciated.
Pictured: The scenes at the lifeboat station on Sunday (Photos: Mike Lang)
