A flashing light seen on the River Teign last night (Wednesday October 1) resulted in a call out for the volunteer crew from Teignmouth Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI).

HM Solent Coastguard paged the Teignmouth crew at 9.21pm after receiving reports of a flashing white light SOS signal seen on the River Teign.

The crew from Teignmouth Lifeboat Station quickly launched and worked with mobile teams from Dawlish Coastguard on the shoreline. They located a boat off Ringmore in Shaldon where a battery pack on board the vessel was flashing and lighting up the cabin.

An SOS is an internationally recognised distress signal that is traditionally sent by flashing a light or sounding a horn with three short flashes or sounds, followed by three long flashes or sounds, and then another three short bursts.

‘In this case, there was no emergency, but calling it in was absolutely the right thing to do,’ a spokesperson from Teignmouth RNLI said. ‘We would far rather launch to a false alarm with good intent than risk someone in danger not being found,’ the spokesperson added. ‘A big thank you to the vigilant member of the public who reported this.’

Teignmouth RNLI responds to around 50 shouts a year. The crew are all volunteers, headed up by the lifeboat operations manager and launch authorities and supported by a shore crew. The wider team includes volunteer fundraisers, shop volunteers and water safety volunteers.

Teignmouth RNLI is currently recruiting for a range of roles across its community engagement, fundraising and shore crew teams.

The charity provides a 24/7 search and rescue service and is entirely funded by public donations.

Last year, Teignmouth RNLI received a new B-Class Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat, the Claude and Kath thanks to a generous legacy.