Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade is looking for volunteers to join the team.

The team has been called out three times in the past four days as we start to become busier with the arrival of some settled warm weather.

Two of the three callouts were false alarms with good intent, with the other call involving a broken down boat which was towed to safety by the RNLI.

Last Thursday, May 18, HM Coastguard received a 999 call from a member of the public at just after 1:30pm who had found some personal items that appeared to be unattended on Whitley Bay beach.

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The Brigade was tasked and as members arrived on scene they were approached by the first informant who passed on the good news that a person had just returned from a swim and confirmed that the items belonged to them, at this point the Brigade was stood down.

On Saturday, May 20, shortly after 10am, team members carried out Rope Rescue training at Cullercoats Bay, HM Coastguard asked if they could provide support to Cullercoats RNLI who were being tasked to a 20ft boat that broken down off Tynemouth Longsands.

The team vehicle was dispatched to a vantage point, but the presence of a thick sea fret meant that visibility from the shore was limited to around 50 metres and so the team was limited in the support it could offer.

Team members stood by as the Lifeboat launched and located the boat, and then set up a tow back to South Shields.

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At this point the Brigade was stood down from the incident, with South Shields Volunteer Life Brigade tasked to meet the boat and lifeboat at their launch point on the south side of the Tyne.

On Sunday, May 21, at just after 4pm, HM Coastguard tasked the Brigade to check on the welfare of a kayaker who was reported to possibly be in difficulty off King Edward’s Bay.

Brigade members quickly arrived on scene and located the kayaker roughly half a mile offshore. On a spring afternoon, the person was observed to be making good progress towards the Tyne Piers and appeared to be in no difficulty.

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After observing them for five minutes and relaying information back to the Coastguard control room, all were happy that no further action was required, and the Brigade was stood down.

In 2023 the Brigade has so far responded to 40 Callouts.