Volunteers at Fleetwood RNLI rescue bait digger with just 'minutes to spare'

Adrian Botham, from Fleetwood, has been bait digging around the Fylde coast for 30 years, but had never been in difficulties before. On Saturday, the high tides beat him and he called for help, once he realised he was in trouble.

The volunteers from Fleetwood RNLI were called out at 9.40am after Adrian had misjudged one of the highest tides of the year and needed rescuing urgently.

The inshore lifeboat, named ‘Mary Elizabeth Barnes’, made its way to the scene, several hundred yards from Marine Hall in Fleetwood, with only water between Adrian and the

shore.

By the time the volunteer crew reached Adrian, he was chest deep in water and struggling to stay upright.

Adrian said: "Even though the tide was flooding in, the sea wanted to take me back out. The sand was washing away from underneath me, and the current pushing me back out to sea, with massive force.

"I used my bait pump to anchor myself to the seabed and hung on. It was such a relief to see the lifeboat heading towards me. My life is indebted to the brave, selfless volunteers from Fleetwood RNLI’.

Helmsman and station mechanic, Daryl Randles said: "Adrian was sensible and experienced enough to anchor himself to the sea bed and not risk falling into a deep gully. He was obviously cold and wet when we picked him up, but he soon warmed up with a hot shower back at the station.

"He was very lucky in the end, the outcome could have been so different. But it does show you that even the most experienced can get into trouble. I think he was relieved when we picked him up."