Seahouses lifeboat called out during recruitment drive

Seahouses RNLI all-weather lifeboat launches during it's recruitment day.

The lifeboat station in the Northumberland village was hosting a recruitment day when their call-out pagers interrupted the event and the crew had to quickly go into action.

UK Coastguard requested the launch of Seahouses All Weather Lifeboat at 10.51am to try to locate a distress beacon (EPIRB), transmitting in the Beadnell Bay area.

A prototype of the new Shannon lifeboat, which is coming to Seahouses next year and is on trial at Seahouses.

The lifeboat is equipped with radio direction finding equipment. and, at this stage, it was not known if it were a genuine or accidental operation of the beacon on a vessel.

The All-Weather Lifeboat was launched and prospective crew members were able to witness the call out first hand, in less-than-pleasant sea conditions.

As the lifeboat arrived at Beadnell and began a search, the local shore-based Coastguard team was on the beach and located a nearby vessel, which was the source of the alert in what turned out to be an ‘accidental operation’, according to a Seahouses RNLI spokesman.

The lifeboat was stood down and returned to station. It was refuelled and ready for service again at 1.05pm.

Ian Clayton, Seahouses RNLI lifeboat ops manager, said: “The recruitment day proved very useful, with a possible 10 new recruits.”