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Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Neil Shaw

RNLI crew dash from wedding to rescue in seven minutes

RNLI volunteers rushed from their crew member's wedding to rescue six people - and took just seven minutes to get from venue to boat.

The lifesavers were lined up the aisle creating an arch for newlyweds Ashley Witcombe, a shorecrew volunteer, and his wife Cheryl.

Moments later their pagers went off and they raced to rescue a group stranded on a small beach near Ilfracombe, Devon.

Wedding photographer Becky Payne, 39, said: "They'd literally just got married.

"We went outside and just after we took a couple of pictures they had to run. It was pretty exciting."

Lifeboatman Leigh Hanks said: "We hope the pagers didn’t disrupt Ashley and Cheryl’s special day too much, although I’m sure it’s something they’re both used to.

"It’s not the first time the pagers have gone off at a crew wedding, and I’m sure it won't be the last!"

Leigh added that the conditions for the rescue were "challenging" but the crew rescued all three adults and three children, who got stranded on a paddleboarding trip.

The group were uninjured and taken back to the shore following the rescue on October 28.

Later in the day, the lifeboat crew drove past the seaside wedding venue again while on a training exercise and were pictured giving a wave to the newlywed couple.

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