A HERD of cattle had to be rescued in the early hours after being found in the sea on a sweltering night.

The Fowey inshore lifeboat was launched at 1.50am on Thursday, August 1, following reports of approximately 20 cows in the water near Chapel Point close to Mevagissey.

The lifeboat crew arrived on the scene to find a herd in the sea and six more animals on a rock ledge nearby, with two farmers in the water supporting the cattle.

The crew members kept their distance and monitored the situation as the farmers guided the cattle back to shore, one by one.

The crew shone torches to help the farmers and made sure they were okay before returning to the lifeboat station.

Helm James Dowrick said: “We arrived on the scene to see cattle in the water and on the rocks. However, it was clear that the farmers had the situation under control and we supported them with torchlight and monitored those in the water before returning back to the station once we were comfortable everyone was safe.”

At around midday on the same day, the inshore lifeboat was launched again to assist a mother and daughter who had got into difficulty whilst paddleboarding off Par Beach.

Lifeboat crew members found the pair stranded on rocks to the east side of the beach. They rescued them, returning them to the shore.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, July 27, at 3.30pm, Falmouth Coastguard had requested that Fowey Lifeboat Station assemble crew to provide possible assistance to a woman with a suspected broken ankle just south of the monument on the Hall Walk at Penleath Point above Fowey Harbour.

An ambulance and St Austell and Polruan coastguard teams were en route to the casualty. As there were difficulties with access to the scene, it was decided to launch the inshore lifeboat and put crew members ashore.

A Fowey harbour patrol staff member was already at the scene with the injured woman. The lifeboat crew arrived at 4pm and two crew members went ashore to care for the casualty. The coastguard teams and paramedics arrived at 4.40pm.

After an assessment by the paramedics, it was decided that the best way to evacuate the woman was to take her along the Hall Walk to Bodinnick. With the two lifeboat crew members assisting, the teams took the injured woman from the scene. At 6.20pm, she was transferred to an ambulance waiting at Bodinnick. The inshore lifeboat helm then picked up the two crew members at the Bodinnick slipway and returned to the station.

An RNLI spokesperson said: “This was an excellent example of co-ordination and co-operation between Fowey RNLI, the coastguard teams, the ambulance service and the Fowey harbour patrol.”