Three members of Hornsea Inshore Rescue have been awarded the Royal Humane Society’s bronze medals for bravery shown when carrying out a very difficult rescue in severe conditions earlier this year.
Leading coxswain Karl Shannon and crew Shona Richards and Carl Handley were returning from a “false alarm with good intent” callout when they spotted a man and his dog cut off by the tide and clinging to the cliffs while being battered by big waves.
Nobody was able to see their predicament as they were out of view to all but the lifeboat crew. With a mixture of excellent seamanship, bravery and first-class training they managed to rescue the casualties in the most extreme conditions, undoubtedly saving the lives of both the man and his dog.
Minor injuries were suffered by the crew and the lifeboat suffered damage during this rescue. All this was remedied on return to the lifeboat’s headquarters and the casualty was given first aid and allowed to recover under supervision.
The medals will be presented in London at the Royal Humane Society’s annual general meeting next year.
Shona said: “It was an extremely difficult rescue with the boat being washed on to the cliffs at one point, but I remained confident in our leading coxswain Karl’s ability to get us all home safely.
“It’s a lovely surprise to be receiving a medal from a national institution but it was not a situation I would like to repeat in a hurry.”
Meanwhile, Hornsea Inshore Rescue benefited from a birthday party bash held at the Green Owl on Friday night.
Adrian and Kath Caygill from Bradford were celebrating a special birthday and thought they would have a party at the restaurant in Newbegin while also raising money for their favourite charity.
Members of Hornsea Inshore Rescue were invited and donations amounted to £500 which was later presented to charity representatives at the Hornsea Boat Launch Cafe.
Receiving the donation, chairman and station manager Sue Hickson-Marsay MBE said: “It was a fantastic night and raised a fantastic amount of money which will go towards our major update of our facilities later this year. Without donations such as this, the updates would not be possible.”
Hornsea Inshore Rescue is a totally independent local rescue organisation supported solely by donations and grants, and it is not part of the RNLI.
