Father's Day call-out as lifeboat crews scrambled in early hours to incident on East Durham coast

Rescue volunteers were scrambled to an early Father’s Day call-out to assist in a search for a missing person along the coast.
Hartlepool RNLI ilb 'Solihull' and volunteer crew setting off at 3.40am to take part in a search along the East Durham Coast this morning. Pic by Tom Collins.Hartlepool RNLI ilb 'Solihull' and volunteer crew setting off at 3.40am to take part in a search along the East Durham Coast this morning. Pic by Tom Collins.
Hartlepool RNLI ilb 'Solihull' and volunteer crew setting off at 3.40am to take part in a search along the East Durham Coast this morning. Pic by Tom Collins.

Sunderland Coastguard Rescue Team and Hartlepool Coastguard Rescue Team were called out shortly before 3am on June 20 to assist Durham Constabulary with a search for the missing person in the Horden and Easington areas.

Hartlepool lifeboats were also launched to assist emergency services with the incident.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Coastguard officers carried out searches of cliff tops and beaches in the area with nothing found.

A spokesperson for Sunderland Coastguard said: “As we were returning to station some distance inland, we came across the missing person who was safe and well, we waited with them and handed them into the care of the police.”

Hartlepool RNLI said its inshore lifeboat 'Solihull' launched at 3.40am and the all weather lifeboat 'Betty Huntbatch' launched at 4.15am to commence a search of the shoreline.

Both boats were eventually stood down by the Coastguard at 5.40am and returned to the Ferry Road boathouse at 6.00am and were refuelled and made ready for service by 6.30am.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Hartlepool RNLI Coxswain Robbie Maiden said: “Once again great teamwork from the volunteer crew and station officials allowed us to go to sea quickly in the early hours and work alongside our neighbours at Sunderland RNLI and the other emergency services during the incident which has ended with a satisfactory result that allowed us all to return home safely to enjoy Fathers Day with our families.”

In all coastal emergencies, dial 999 and ask for the coastguard.

You can subscribe to this website and enjoy unlimited access to local news, information and puzzles online. With a digital subscription, you can read more than five articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Simply click ‘Subscribe’ in the menu.