Club safety boat rescues four An incident which took place in the Ribble Estuary on 13 August this year has earned Mr Richard Blackburn the thanks of the chief of operations after he launched the Ribble Cruising Club rescue boat to save the life of a swimmer in trouble.

A speedboat that had been in difficulties earlier in the day had been towed to safety by a yacht and placed on a mooring. The occupants then settled down to do some fishing.

At about 1550 that same afternoon, one of the men on board decided to go for a swim and leapt overboard, only to be carried rapidly seawards in the strong ebb tide.

In view of the urgency of the situation, two of the Lytham lifeboat crew, P. Sumner and R. Wignall, asked Mr Blackburn if he would be willing to launch his club's rescue boat.

Mr Blackburn agreed and a few minutes later had picked up the swimmer, who was already in an exhausted state, and brought him ashore.

Concern was felt for the safety of the speedboat and the three remaining occupants, and they were brought to shore as the boat had run out of fuel. The local auxiliary coastguard was reported to have spoken to the men later...!.