Bridlington’s volunteer RNLI crew were called out four times in a single afternoon last week, dealing with three separate reports of missing children and one report of two adult paddleboarders in difficulty, all on Thursday 13 August.
The first alert came in at 2.51pm, when HM Coastguard tasked the inshore lifeboat Ernie Wellings after a young child was reported missing on South Beach. Three volunteers were preparing to launch when word came through that the child had already been found safe, and the crew stood down before entering the water.
Barely had the boat been recovered when a second call came in at 3.25pm — another child missing, this time thought to be on a bodyboard, also in the South Beach area.
This time the crew did launch, searching both the water and shoreline near the last known sighting. The child was found safe on the beach not long after, and the volunteers were stood down by 3.35pm.
Ready for service
A third call followed almost immediately, at 3.39pm, again reporting a missing child on South Beach — and once more, the child turned up safe and well.
It rounded off a genuinely frantic spell for the crew, coming on what was one of the year’s hottest days, with the beach packed. By 4.30pm, Ernie Wellings had been recovered, cleaned down and readied for service once more.
A fourth callout followed later that evening, at 6.42pm, this time for two adult paddleboarders struggling to get back to shore on the north side of town.
The crew stood down just nine minutes later, at 6.51pm, once HM Coastguard confirmed the pair had made it back safely under their own steam.
Distressing for everyone
Bridlington RNLI Launch Authority Chris Feeley said: “It is all too easy to become separated from your children on a very busy beach, and it can be extremely distressing for everyone involved. Fortunately, there are simple steps families can take to help.
“Bridlington RNLI has been supplied with thousands of beach safety wristbands which allow parents and carers to write their contact number on them for children to wear while visiting the beach. If a child becomes separated from their family, these wristbands can help emergency services or members of the public reunite them much more quickly.”
Volunteer crew member Dalton Smith was on his very first operational outing that day — an eventful introduction, given it included three of the four callouts. Dalton said: “To be involved in three call outs within such a short period of time on my first operational outing was certainly an experience. Thankfully, on each occasion the children were found safe and well, which is the best possible outcome for everyone concerned.”
Bridlington RNLI wants beachgoers to watch their children carefully, settle on a spot to reunite if anyone gets split up, and pick up one of the resort’s free safety wristbands, which are handed out at a handful of spots around town: the RNLI shop next to the lifeboat station itself, a second RNLI shop on King Street, any RNLI Lifeguard unit, Richie’s Café, and the Foreshore Office on South Promenade.
