Duo present £200 donation to the RNLI

Two men who were rescued by the volunteer crew of the Lyme Regis RNLI lifeboat said ‘thank you’ with a £200 donation to the life-saving charity.

One of the men, 64 year old retired police officer David Dolling, from Poole, visited the lifeboat station yesterday (Sunday, October 25) to present the donation to some of the crew members who rescued him and his friend, John Allan, in August.

Mr Dolling and Mr Allan, 67, from Essex, were trapped on rocks west of Lyme Regis, in August, and when they realised they could go no further they called the coastguards.

Mr Dolling, who with his colleague was on a mapping exercise, said: “We are both very grateful to the lifeboat crew.”

The pair got into difficulties as they tried to make their way across the rocky coastline to Pinhay and when they reached Seven Rock Point in darkness they realised they could go no further in safety and called the coastguard.

Lyme Regis volunteer lifeboat crew raced to the scene but because of the rocks and shallow water they had to return to harbour to pick up three extra crew members to steady the vessel and to help the two men aboard.

Crew members Tom Crabbe and Andrew Rice swam ashore to assist the two men.

Mr Allan were wet, tired, but otherwise unhurt.

The lifeboat crew brought the two men to the lifeboat station where they were given blankets and hot drinks.

Speaking after their rescue on Sunday, August 23, Mr Allan said: ”We were so pleased to see the lifeboat crew. We underestimated the time it would take us to walk back and just had to call for help. Sometimes you simply don’t realise how old you are until you get into this sort of situation.”