So let me see if I get this straight, the MCS is investigating a lifeboat crew and not ruling out disciplinary action because they did their job and saved a young girl's life. Did they really think that she could have waited half an hour in a riptide while the Ilfracombe boat made its way to her?
The crew would know the condition of the boat, and if the MCA was going to suspend their useage then surely they should have made an effort to procure a replacement. This incident shows that the crew is obviously needed in the area.
A LIFEBOAT crew could face disciplinary action for ignoring health and safety rules to rescue a drowning teenage girl.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency warned that the crew from Hope Cove in the South Hams could be reprimanded for launching their boat despite the fact it had been suspended from service over safety fears.
The three-man coastguard team went into action after reports a 13- year-old girl had been sucked out to sea in a dangerous riptide.
The men had been told to hold fire as an RNLI crew were on their way from Salcombe six miles away – but they believed it would take too long to arrive.
The crew, made up of Ian Pedrick, who heads the Hope Cove Coastguard Rescue Team, his brother Paul, and David Illingworth now face disciplinary action.
The Chief Coastguard, Rod Johnson, last night sought to defuse the row, saying in a TV interview that the crew would not now be disciplined.
However, the volunteers remain the subject of an investigation and Mark Clark, of the MCA, refused to rule out disciplinary action.
He said the boat which the crew launched was not considered to be in a fit state and they could have put themselves and others at risk.
He was keen to emphasise that an investigation would be conducted.
"We want to know why they launched this boat when they had been told specifically not to."
He added: "We cannot rule out disciplinary action, but it is not something we want to do.
"Our volunteer coastguards are one of our most valuable resources.
"This is not a witch-hunt against them."
The boat in question has now been removed from Hope Cove and put into storage in Kingsbridge to remove the "moral dilemma the coastguards may have", said Mr Clark.
The drama unfolded earlier this week when sisters Hannah, 15, and Katherine Martin, 13, from the West Midlands, were swimming off the beach when they were caught by a dangerous riptide and dragged out to sea.
Hannah was hauled back to safety by a swimmer but Katherine faced being sucked further out to sea.
Three other swimmers went to her aid and managed to drag her back to within 50 yards of the shore, but all four were then caught in a riptide and sucked back out.
The rescuers then became exhausted and had to leave the girl as she was dragged further away.
It was at this point that the coastguard volunteers at Hope Cove launched their coastguard boat.
The crew also claimed they lost radio contact with coastguard bosses which meant they had to react quickly.
However, the MCA said there was no question of this happening and said the 13-year-old girl was rescued by a member of the public.
A source close to the rescue team, who have been ordered by the MCA not to comment, said that taking the boat away was "insane".
He said: "This whole situation is insane and ridiculous.
"It would have taken 25 to 35 minutes for a crew from Salcombe to get here, which just isn't quick enough.
"The crew have the support of the local people – it's just a shame they don't have the support of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency."
The source also refuted the MCA's claim that the boat was not safe, saying: "Some minor repairs needed doing and they were done by a reputable company, but the Maritime and Coastguard Agency refuse to accept it."
The inflatable boat had been suspended from service because of concerns about its hull.
But Dave Clarke, chairman of the Harbour Commission and retired station manager of Hope Cove coastguard team, said the boat had never been a problem, had been used in plenty of rescues and helped save many lives.
He insisted the MCA was making a fuss about nothing.
He said: "The volunteer crew just did what anyone in that situation would have done. The two girls were getting into trouble and they tried to save them manually and it wasn't working – it was a life-or-death situation.
"Technically there was nothing wrong with the boat, it wasn't going to conk out. But because of their actions, the boat has been locked up in the coastguard station at Kingsbridge.
"It is a vital link in the rescue chain and it would have helped out with a lot of rescues this summer."
Fred Caygill, a spokesman for the MCA, said the Hope Cove boat, along with another four in the UK, including one on the River Tamar, was suspended from service on June 11 because of concerns regarding the "structural integrity of the boat hulls".
He insisted coastguard rescue boats were additional facilities and that the search-and-rescue effectiveness of the coastguard would not be compromised.
