A man rescued by Weston Coastguard near Grand Pier yesterday at 8:15 pm.

A spokesperson for RNLI Weston said:"RNLI Weston-super-Mare has been kept busy over the last 18 hours in this rescue operation.

"At 21:15 last night, the Coastguard tasked the D class charity lifeboat, 'Adrian Beaumont'and her crew to reports of someone stuck in the mud, near the Grand Pier.

"Before the lifeboat could deploy, the shout was cancelled as the person stuck was able to free themselves and make their way to shore where they were checked over by Ambulance.

"Members of the public then made the Emergency Services on site aware of a suspicious object in the water."

"The coastguard once again tasked the D class to investigate (21:26). The crew also requested the Atlantic lifeboat, "Douglas Murray" to assist in the search.

"The crew conducted a negative search but were able to locate some debris that had probably caused the concern.

"Then, as the boats were returning to the slipway, another Tasking Request came in (22:00) with reports of 2 people on Birnbeck Island.

""The D class made haste to the Island while the Atlantic remained close by to support if needed. The crew rescued 2 people from the island, and returned them to shore where the Police and Coastguard were waiting.

"This afternoon at 12:53 the Coastguard tasked the Atlantic lifeboat to a report of two children on paddle boards in Sand Bay, apparently in trouble drifting to sea."

"Just after the Atlantic was launched at 13:04, we received another tasking to a high priority incident involving two children in difficulty swimming near Black Rock, at Brean Down."

The D class was launched to the scene at 13:10.

"We then received news that the Coastguard shore team would conclude the paddle board incident as the casualties had made their way safely back to shore, so the Atlantic re-routed to assist with the swimmers at Brean Down.

The volunteer lifeboat crew recovered two people(adults) from the area, returning them to Knightstone slipway for some safety advice from the Coastguard.

Not 100% certain these were the people that had been seen by the original informant, the Atlantic then rejoined the D class, along with the Coastguard Rescue helicopter R187 for a further search."

After further conversation with the informant and the descriptions given, the Coastguard were satisfied we had indeed collected the people in trouble, and ended the search.

Both boats were cleaned down, refuelled and once again made ready for service.

This flurry of shouts required a huge amount of teamwork by the whole crew as well as our partner agencies - Coastguard,Police,Fire,Ambulance and the Beach Rangers.

Several bits of advice by RNLI:

Do not venture out into the mud! It can quickly become treacherous and even at ankle deep, getting stuck becomes a real possibility. Add an incoming tide to the equation and the danger escalates rapidly.

Birnbeck Pier is NOT safe in its current state. Trespassing onto the Island will put you at risk of getting stranded, injury or death, as well as putting the lives of our crew at risk when we need to rescue you.

When Paddle boarding or swimming, be aware of the tides and winds, ensuring you have a way to communicate if you find yourself in trouble.

If you see anyone in trouble in the sea/mud call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.

That concludes this bumper post !