A RNLI hovercraft crew leapt into action in an attempt to rescue a stranded porpoise they spotted on a Wirral beach.
Hoylake’s hovercraft H-005 Hurley Spirit was out on a training mission last night, when they spotted a stranded porpoise at Barber’s Folly off Meols.
Wirral Coastguard Rescue Team and volunteers from British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) were on the scene, assessing the porpoise's condition.
This is the face of a man who terrified a young mum and her seven year old son
Two of the volunteers boarded the hovercraft to monitor the porpoise as it was transported to the water’s edge.
The BDMLR and RNLI volunteers calmly lifted the porpoise out and walked it to deeper water where it was refloated. The porpoise swam away to the delight of all volunteers involved.
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The incident happened at around 6.48pm last night.
This is the face of a man who terrified a young mum and her seven year old son
Harry Jones, Hover Commander, said to the ECHO: "This wasn’t your typical exercise and it will certainly stick in my memory! There was a brilliant sense of teamwork as the three agencies worked together to ensure the porpoise was returned to the sea safely and I couldn’t be happier with the outcome.”
Kristen Cureton, BDMLR North West regional coordinator, said: "After an assessment and administering some basic first aid to the stranded adolescent harbour porpoise, we sent photographs to BDMLR headquarters, where our vet confirmed that the porpoise was in a good condition to refloat. With the help of the Coastguard and Hoylake RNLI, we were able to return it to the water safely. We’d like to thank all of the emergency services that attended. Without them, particularly the Hoylake RNLI hovercraft, we couldn’t have rescued the porpoise.’
