A swimmer in difficulty off Teignmouth beach was rescued by volunteers from Teignmouth Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI) on Sunday afternoon (December 7).

Crew members were paged at 1.13pm after Solent Coastguard alerted Teignmouth Lifeboat station to the incident. After a swift launch, the crew extracted the swimmer and returned them safely back to shore where the patient was transferred to the care of the South West Ambulance Service.

The call out was a milestone first operational shout for trainee crew member Will Burton Junior.

‘Will stepped up exceptionally well,’ commented Teignmouth RNLI lifeboat operations manager Andy Lilburn. ‘He, along with the rest of the crew, showed exemplary conduct,’ he added. ‘The hours of training, the pressure, and the commitment of our volunteers are what allow us to launch confidently and effectively whenever we are required.’