A grandad and granddaughter were saved from drowning in the River Wear near Sunderland ’s National Glass Centre.
Volunteers from Sunderland RNLI were diverted from a training exercise at around 9.15am on Sunday to attend an incident opposite the centre, where two people were said to be in the water.
A spokesperson said: “Arriving five minutes later our crew discovered that the male had managed to recover himself from the water; but was unable to recover the female from the water.
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“The female was quickly recovered onto the lifeboat where she was given a blanket to help her warm up.
“After ensuring the male had made it safely ashore the lifeboat returned to the lifeboat station.”
“After a further assessment at the lifeboat station both casualties were able to make their own way home.”
They added: “This incident could have had a totally different outcome had the casualties not been wearing fully functioning lifejackets.
“A lifejacket is useless unless worn and we hope that this incident acts as a reminder to everyone who takes part in activities on the water.”
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