Swimmers rescued from surf-swept pier supports The Chief of Operations has written to congratulate crew member Steven Tester of Littlehampton's Atlantic 21 Blue Peter I following the rescue of two swimmers on 16 July 1993.

The Atlantic had been launched at 2051 following a report that two swimmers were in difficulties on the West Pier and arrived in the area six minutes later.

A man and a young girl were clinging to the sloping supports in a heavy surf,with exhausted and being lacerated by the barnacles.

A first attempt to put the lifeboat between the supports was abandoned because of fears of damage and she stood off while crew member Tester swam in through the surf to retrieve first the girl and then the man. Both were exhausted and suffering from hypothermia and lacerations and were landed at the station for first aid before being taken to hospital. Blue Peter I then returned to the scene to check that no-one else was in difficulty, and was then called out to search for the source of red flares. Nothing was found and she was finally stood down at 2136.

•This service was featured on BBC TV's'Blue Peter' programme, when the girl - 13-year-old Abigail Martin - recounted her experiences as part of the programme's appeal to fund six Blue Peter lifeboats..