Lucky dog rescued by RNLI after drifting out to sea at Fleetwood

Poppy got into trouble in the water near the Marine Hall in Fleetwood shortly after 1pm yesterday.

Coastguard officers donned dry suits and waded into the waves in the hope of rescuing the dog, but feared she had drowned when she drifted out of sight.

But she was picked up by a passing lifeboat from Fleetwood RNLI.

A spokesman for Fleetwood Coastguard said: "After initially hearing the dog bark we lost sight and sound of her, fearing the worst.

"Luckily for her the Fleetwood lifeboat was also returning and spotted the dog near number eight buoy. Asked if it was OK, the response over the radio was 'well it's still swimming'.

"She was picked up and wrapped in a blanket for the journey back to the station to be reunited with some very grateful owners."

It was a busy day all-round for the lifeboat team, as they were also called two fishermen on a rigid inflatable boat drifting out to sea near NCI Fleetwood tower, and were redirected to a kayaker in trouble near Fleetwood boating lake.

They said: "Some officers from the first tasking redeployed to the kayaker to find him making his way off the beach to safety. After some "safety advice" the officers returned to the original job.

"Fleetwood ILB reached the drifting rib to find two persons on board fishing. Their intention was to fish until the tide flooded and return to Knott End where they had launched from.

"Some stern nautical advice was given by the lifeboat crew."

The inflatable was towed back to Fleetwood.