Inflatable warning after teens drift '2.5 miles' from Caister beach

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Caister Lifeboat said it was called to rescue three boys who were in trouble on an inflatable in Caister-on-Sea

People have been warned about the dangers of using inflatables in the sea after three teenage boys got into trouble.

Caister Lifeboat said it was called to reports of three people on an inflatable, which had drifted out to sea due to windy conditions in Caister-on-Sea, at about midday on Wednesday.

Three boys, all under 16, were found about "two and a half miles" away from the shore. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency confirmed they were brought safely back to the beach.

Richard Thurlow, joint coxswain of Caister Lifeboat, said: "The advice is to leave them [inflatables] at the swimming pools, do not take them to the beach."

The lifeboat service said it had found one boy in the boat and two in the water holding on to the inflatable.

Mr Thurlow said that they had travelled about "two and a half miles" before the lifeboat service reached them.

An informant of the incident had followed the teenagers up the beach, prompting a call to the emergency services, the service said.

"I do not think people see the trouble they are in at that time," he added.

Caister Lifeboat said that the job was recorded as a 'lives saved mission', which meant there could have been serious implications without intervention.

A spokesperson for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said: "Three boys reported to HM Coastguard to be in difficulty were brought safely to the beach by Caister Lifeboat."

Mr Thurlow said the service had a "spell of it not happening for a while" and that he had "thought the message was getting through".

"If you find yourself in trouble, do not try to swim back to shore; stay in it and stay together," he added.

"It is easier to spot a bright orange, yellow or green dinghy, than a head bobbing in the water."

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