LOOE RNLI crews were called into action on two consecutive days to help paddleboarders in difficulty – before rescuing an exhausted swimmer from the water near the town’s Banjo Pier.

The charity’s volunteer lifeboat crews launched twice after concerns were raised about paddleboarders off the South East Cornwall coast.

The first call came on Thursday (July 30), when Falmouth Coastguard Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre received a 999 call reporting concerns for two paddleboarders around 500 yards off Hannafore Point.

One of the paddleboarders had fallen into the water and appeared to be struggling, prompting Looe RNLI’s pagers to sound at 3.22pm.

Within minutes, volunteers launched the D Class inshore lifeboat Ollie Naismith II to investigate. When crews arrived in the bay, they located two separate groups of paddleboarders – all safe and enjoying the afternoon.

The incident was declared a false alarm with good intent – with the lifeboat returning to station.

The following afternoon, Friday (July 31), crews were called out again after RNLI lifeguards at Seaton spotted a paddleboarder being blown out to sea by strong offshore winds.

The relief Atlantic 85 lifeboat Spirit of Cooperation was launched and arrived to find the paddleboarder had managed to get closer to shore and was being assisted by a lifeguard on a rescue board.

The lifeboat crew remained on scene until both were safely ashore before returning home.

However, as the lifeboat approached Looe Harbour, shouts from members of the public on Banjo Pier alerted the crew to an exhausted swimmer clinging to the side of the pier.

The swimmer, who had been attempting to fight the outgoing tide, was brought safely aboard and returned to the landing pontoon.

The rescue also marked a milestone for former boat crew member James Chudleigh, who had recently qualified as a launch authority and was responsible for authorising the lifeboat launch.