St Bees RNLI were requested to launch by HM Coastguard to locate and assist a person in the water in Whitehaven harbour.

The call came in on May 1, during the night and due to the nature of the shout the crew were summoned on immediate readiness with the lifeboat in the water by 10.30pm.

With the lifeboat underway, the crew made contact with the Coastguard who briefed them that the first informant had spotted what they thought was torch light from the water and they were concerned that this was a person signalling for help.

Going off this information, the lifeboat crew were tasked to carry out an area search around North Pier at Whitehaven Harbour to quickly locate and assist anyone in need.

The lifeboat arrived at Whitehaven, however they were then informed by the Coastguard that the Whitehaven Coastguard Rescue Team who were on scene, had found the source of the light to be a string of lights from fishermen.

The lifeboat was then stood down and headed back to the station to be recovered and was made ready for the next service.

Dick Beddows, Lifeboat Operations Manager for St Bees RNLI says: “A shout for a person in the water is something that is a top priority. Tonight demonstrated that although on this occasion we were not required, the importance of being ready to respond in a professional manner at a moment’s notice to time critical incidents.”