THE crew of the Great Yarmouth and Gorleston RNLI inshore lifeboat have been busy this week, attending nine incidents in just five days. On Saturday the crew were called to an area close to the Berney Arms following reports of three drunken people in a dinghy.

THE crew of the Great Yarmouth and Gorleston RNLI inshore lifeboat have been busy this week, attending nine incidents in just five days.

On Saturday the crew were called to an area close to the Berney Arms following reports of three drunken people in a dinghy. The lifeboat launched at about 9.30pm and despite a thorough search of the area, no dinghy was found.

At about 5.30am on Sunday the lifeboat was called to Yarmouth yacht station after a cruiser was seen drifting away after breaking free from its moorings. The crew helped the Tamaris' occupants make a safe return to the yacht station.

Later that day at 5.30pm the lifeboat was launched following reports of a swimmer too far out to sea off the Britannia Pier. On arrival the crew found the swimmer had managed to get back to shore safely.

Shortly before 10pm on Monday, it was dispatched to Breydon Water to a cruiser which had run aground. They managed to tow the vessel free.

The lifeboat was called to Breydon Water a second time on Tuesday at 9.30am to a cruiser with seven people on board which had got stuck in the mud. The three adults and five children on board the vessel were rescued by the lifeboat and taken to shore near the White Swan pub.

Later that day they were called to South Pier in Gorleston following reports of an attempted suicide. The lifeboat was on scene until police had dealt with the incident.

While travelling back to the station, Yarmouth Coastguard alerted the lifeboat to a sailing dinghy close to the sandbanks. Lifeboatman advised the person on board of where safe water was.

Rob Carroll, lifeboatmen and press officer, urged beach goers and boat users to consider their safety and that of others at all times. He said: “People need to be vigilant at all times, know the area they are in and be aware of the safety boundaries. The tide can be very powerful and if you think you are in trouble, raise the alarm immediately by shouting and waving your arms.”