RNLI lifeguards rescued eight people who had been caught in a rip current in between Constantine and Booby’s Bay.

RNLI lifeguards at both Constantine and Booby’s Bay were aware of people who had got into difficulty in deep water on Tuesday, July 23, at around 2.30pm.

Senior lifeguards Sam Cooper and Joe Jones launched the inshore rescue boat and one by one rescued six casualties who had been bodyboarding and been dragged out to sea.

Alongside the lifeguards on the inshore rescue boat, RNLI lifeguards Charlie Henwood and David Greenwood assisted a further two casualties on rescue boards and brought them back to shore.

RNLI lifeguards carried out casualty care checks while back on land and monitored the bodyboarders to make sure they were ok.

Seasonal lifeguard supervisor for Padstow, Leon Bennett said: “Our teams at Constantine and Booby’s did extremely well to work together and rescue eight people who had got into trouble in the water.

“It was by far our busiest day of the summer so far and it’s good to see our training and preparation come into practice and we were able to quickly respond to people who had been caught out of their depth in the sea and our lifeguards all did a fantastic job.

“As the summer holidays it is important to remind people of the RNLI’s advice to go to a lifeguarded beach, swim between the yellow flags and if you do find yourself in difficulty or in a rip current to not panic and float on your back, allowing yourself to remain calm, with your ears submerged as to preserve energy and keep yourself afloat.”

Elsewhere, RNLI lifeguards at Sedgewell Cove responded to a serious medical incident on Sunday, July 28.

Neighbouring team at Bigbury North Jess Rendell, and Matt Pyman helped to maintain a safe bathing area, keeping an eye on those in the water whilst lifeguards at Sedgewell Cove dealt with the incident.

RNLI lifeguards worked with Coastguard teams from Bigbury and Kingsbridge to secure the area of what was a busy beach with hundreds of people enjoying their day on the coast. Once paramedics arrived on scene, they immediately asked for further assistance from air medical services.

Five off duty lifeguards, who were aware of the situation, came across and volunteered to help clear the the beach so that beach safety was not compromised.

Luke Lane-Prokopiou, seasonal lifeguard supervisor for the South Hams and Kingsbridge said: “Our lifeguards did amazingly well to deal with what was an extremely serious incident and conducted themselves with excellent professionalism and worked superbly alongside other emergency services whilst keeping the public safe on the beach.”

The RNLI is reminding people to choose a lifeguarded beach and swim between the red and yellow flags.