Two teenage boys had a lucky escape from being engulfed by the cold sea when they were rescued by Hayling Island’s RNLI D class lifeboat from a sandbank cut off by the tide.

The boys were spotted just after 6pm on Monday 12 April on a long narrow strip of sand off West Wittering, which had been cut off by the incoming tide. Solent Coastguard was alerted to their predicament and the voluntary lifeboat crew at Hayling Island RNLI station were immediately paged to launch a lifeboat.

The D class lifeboat, Amanda, James & Ben, was launched at 6.08pm and using local knowledge, the lifeboat crew found the channel leading to this narrow strip of land and quickly rescued the boys from the sandbank before the tide reached them. They were taken on board the lifeboat and returned to the shore at West Wittering unharmed.

Nigel Roper, Lifeboat Operations Manager, Hayling Island, said: “The boys were lucky to be rescued so quickly. They were only dressed in t-shirts and shorts. The sea temperature at this time of the year is still very cold and there was a strong north easterly breeze. Visitors to beaches in this area should be aware that there are a number of sandbanks which can be very quickly cut off by an incoming tide”.

This was Hayling Island’s 18th launch this year and the third incident that did not involve a vessel in distress but people who may have been in trouble off the beach.

In 2009 Hayling Island lifeboat station was the 6th busiest RNLI station around the UK and the Republic of Ireland with 120 launches, rescuing 119 people and 23% of these launches were to non vessel related incidents.