Thursday, May 29, 2008

At ten minutes to eight this evening Swansea Coastguard received a call from Avon and Somerset police reporting that they had taken a call from a seventeen year old girl who was accompanied by a sixteen year old boy. They called and told the police that they were lost after putting to sea at Weston Super Mare in a toy dinghy.

The teenage pair from Chippenham had travelled to Weston Super Mare by train and had purchased a £5.99 toy inflatable locally which they then put to sea in. The pair were, inadequately dressed for this, they did not carry any other life saving apparatus with them apart from a mobile telephone.

After putting to sea at one oclock this afternoon they were blown off shore with the light wind, subsequently the wind took them back in towards the coast and they landed ashore at Brean Down. They then followed the course of the River Axe on foot becoming totally lost and disorientated. The weather in Somerset has not been favorable this evening. Eventually they called for help from the police.

Swansea Coastguard called out the Weston Super Mare and Burnham on Sea Coastguard rescue teams to search for the pair. Swansea Coastguard were able to utilize the telephone technology in the operations room and put the girl on her mobile phone in a tele-connect call to the Coastguards looking for them.

This enabled the coastguard teams who have a very good local knowledge of the area to quickly identify their location. They then went and picked them up in their vehicle, cold and dirty, but otherwise none the worse for their ordeal. They did not need any medical attention but were offered some appropriate advice, The coastguards then dropped them at Weston Super Mare railway station for their return journey to Chippenham.





Bob Peel, Watch Manager, Swansea Coastguard said:

We would strongly advise anyone thinking of putting to sea in a toy inflatable boat to think again. These toys are designed by manufacturers as, and should not be used for open waters which they are totally unsuitable for.

They should only be used under supervision by a responsible adult. Hopefully these two teenagers have learnt from their experience and we hope that others take heed of our warnings.

They were very lucky in this instance as no one knew that they had put to sea, and had they not been blown back into shore, this incident could have had a very different outcome.