RNLI volunteers rescue two from dinghy blown over a mile out to sea

The RNLI inshore lifeboat was launched after reports of an inflatable dinghy being blown out to sea with two people on board.

Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) volunteer crew were alerted to the incident around 11:20am this morning by UK Coastguard Humber based at Briddlington,

A team of three crew worked with the assistance of NCI (National Coast Watch) Chapel St Leonards to locate the casualties and bring the to safety.

The four meter inflatable dinghy was located drifting north east out to sea on the day's stiff south westerly wind, some mile and a half from the shore.

The occupants were unaware of the danger they were in or the difficulty they would have trying to reach the

shore. The pair had been out testing out their new boat.

Lee St Quinton, RNLI Helmsman for Skegness RNLI Lifeboat, said: ‘On this occasion the gentlemen were very lucky that someone had alerted us to their plight.

"Inflatable boats and dinghys are not suitable for the open sea and should not be used where situations like this can evolve.

"In this case the people involved were not prepared for emergencies. There were no life jackets and no method of alerting anyone for help, save

for moblie phones which are not reliable out to sea."

The two occupants of the inflatable were assessed to make sure they were in good health and transferred in to the lifeboat, eventually being brought back to the shore and handed to the care of local coastguard officers.