Life brigade called out three times during heat
PA MediaA volunteer life brigade responded to three calls in nine hours after hot weather brought people to the coast.
Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade said it was called out to Longsands beach, North Tyneside, on Wednesday to assist a group of paddle-boarders who were caught in a rip current and to help a drunk teenager.
The team was then called out to Seaton Sluice shortly after 23:00 BST to take part in a search for a missing teenager, who was quickly found.
"The calls highlight the need to take care when visiting the coast, no matter the time of year," the brigade said.
The volunteer organisation said it arrived at Longsands at 14:10 at the request of HM Coastguard, which had received multiple 999 calls about the three paddleboarders being stuck.
However, by the time the volunteers had arrived the paddleboarders had been rescued by staff at a nearby surf school.
At 18:00 the life brigade was back at the same beach to assist the North East Ambulance Service with a "heavily intoxicated" 18-year-old man.
The volunteers used a stretcher to carry the man off the beach to an awaiting ambulance.
"This was a challenging incident for all involved due to the presence of around 200 to 300 people in and around the location of the casualty," it said.
"RNLI Lifeguards Tyne & Wear do not start their annual season until late May and we were grateful for the help from Longsands Surf School and North Sea Volunteer Lifeguards who helped with the calls, and undoubtedly helped prevent further incidents from occurring throughout the day."
