Two young girls enjoying a trip to the beach on Britain’s warmest weekend so far were blown half a mile out to sea on an inflatable swan, triggering a lifeboat rescue operation.
Yesterday afternoon as temperatures climbed to 82F, the children, aged five, were playing on the plastic bird in the shallows off the beach at Minehead, Somerset
On the shore, one of their father’s held a rope which was fastened to the inflatable, but, after letting go of the line only momentarily, the girls were suddenly swept away by blustery winds.
He frantically ran into the sea off but the swan was quickly moving into deeper waters. Realising he was not able to go after the girls, he yelled at them to stay on the swan and dialled 999.
Two young girls were blown half a mile out to sea on an inflatable swan yesterday afternoon off the coast of Minehead, Somerset, triggering a lifeboat rescue operation
RNLI lifeboat crews scrambled to launch two of their inshore RIBs and raced out in search of the girls
RNLI lifeboat crews scrambled to launch two of their inshore RIBs and raced out in search of the girls.
Volunteer lifeboat helm, Phil Sanderson, said that before the dad had time to react the wind had pushed the inflatable several yards away.
He said: ‘He waded into the water and tried to swim out to them but the thing was just moving too quickly and he couldn’t get near it.
‘He did exactly the right thing: he shouted to the girls to stay on the inflatable and then the family dialled 999.’
The lifeboats were on scene within a few minutes and were joined by a coastguard helicopter which had been on exercise in the area.
Phil said that by the time the lifeboats arrived the inflatable was almost half a mile offshore – and still moving rapidly seawards.
He said: ‘Clearly the girls were very frightened by then but we soon had them aboard and reunited with their family.’
The lifeboats were on scene within a few minutes and were joined by a coastguard helicopter which had been on exercise in the area
Volunteer lifeboat helm, Phil Sanderson (base pictured) said that by the time the lifeboats arrived the inflatable was almost half a mile offshore – and still moving rapidly seaward
The girls were among the thousands of beach-goers who flocked to the nation’s coastlines this weekend to soak up the sun.
Brighton beach was characteristically popular and was crammed with bikini-clad women and topless men who threw down their bathing towels and slapped on sun cream.
Today, Britain roasted in temperatures of up to 84F – which peaked in Norfolk – before expected overnight downpours.
A stark contrast can be seen from the west to the east today as a cold front moves in from the west, with parts of Wales experiencing top temperatures of just 57F while the East Anglia region experiences the UK’s top temperatures.
It is predicted to be a much cooler fresher start to the working week tomorrow as a weekend which saw
South east England is expected to hang on to the heat for a little longer tomorrow with bright and sunny spells -but a cold front with heavy out breaks of rain is expected to move in across Scotland, and will soak the midlands and Wales, especially in the early hours of Tuesday.
People enjoy the hot weather on Primrose Hill, London, today as the sun intermittently pokes through the clouds, before showers roll in for the rest of the week
The sunny spell is not yet over! Park goers make the most of the sun and snap a selfie while they still can as the week seems set to bring rain
Brighton Beach was a tad warmer yesterday but troves of people still turned out to soak up what looks like the last of the rays
That rain will survive and prosper through into Tuesday daytime when it will take up much of the west coast of the UK with Wales and Cornwall taking the worst of it.
Those in the north may notice a strong wind as winds pick up across the Irish Sea, with Northern Ireland and Scotland experiencing gale force winds.
Tomorrow’s temperatures are expected to reach highs of 68 to 69F in the South east but will significantly lower overnight across the country, with patchy frost in some parts of Scotland – which will be a relief to those who have struggled to sleep in this weekend’s night time temperatures of 62F.
Tuesday will see the wind ease across the UK but is expected to bring heavy showers and scattered cloud with a risk of thunder in an unsettled weather pattern.
A Met Office spokesman said that we will see a change as a cold front moves east across the country.
‘A band of showery rain is expected. In the north and west of the UK the day will start cloudy and there could be some heavy bursts in some places,’ he said.
‘This rain will not get to the south east, so Kent and Sussex, until late in the day. It is going to be very warm as temperatures potentially reach as high as 64.4 degrees.
Forecast for tonight, tomorrow and Tuesday: This evening will see lows of 41 F in Scotland and 50 F for the rest of the country, heavy showers across the north and midlands are expected tomorrow which will eventually move down to cover most of England and Wales on Wednesday
A couple sunbathe as a small and energetic dog approaches strangers one at a time to greet them in primrose park
The spokesperson added that the warmth could spark one or two showers but ‘you would be very unlucky to see them.’ By the end of the day the west will have brightened up, they added.
However, they did warn that yesterday’s heat will be unrivalled in most of the country, bar East Anglia where they are experiencing higher temperatures than yesterday: ‘It will be much cooler and fresher with increased winds. The start of next week will have a very different feel.
‘It will be much cooler and fresher and quite changeable. There will be strong winds at time, particularly in the north. Showers will be heavy and thundery on Tuesday and again on Thursday.
‘It will be a much more changeable week. Much cooler and fresher. Monday could see around 68 in London. On Tuesday morning it will be windy so temperatures could fall to 42 degrees in Scotland.
‘Tuesday in London it could be 64.4 degrees. The maximum for Wednesday is 64.4 degrees and a similar maximum on Thursday but overall feeling much fresher.’
