• ev he first call came at 7.40am on Thursday 12 October. Following some of the heaviest rain ever seen in the South East. East Sussex Fire Brigade requested the RNLI's assistance with flood relief in Uckfield. This was the start of a huge operation that stretched across the length and breadth of the British mainland. Crews more used to tackling Force 8 gales at sea were faced with a whole new range of dangers.

Over the following few weeks, crews from around the country were able to assist hundreds of people, many of whom were in extreme danger.

Most of the work involved ferrying people from flooded homes and businesses to dry land and investigating reports of missing persons. The work was cold and difficult, but varied, with many unusual stones arising from the operation, sr As well as humans, crews rescued dogs, cats, parrots and other pets, and also helped in searches for missing livestock.

The surging water had swept away drain and sewer covers, and in the brown, muddy waters, many crew found out the hard way that you only knew one was there when you fell down it.

Other underwater hazards included plate glass from smashed shop fronts, barbed-wire fences and small animals drowned in the flood.

A group of young men who had been looting abandoned businesses were trapped by rising flood waters and had to be rescued by a lifeboat crew - who gladly handed them over to police.

A pregnant woman trapped by the floods had gone into labour. Crews met up with paramedics and sped across flooded fields to reach her. She was rescued from a tractor in a field and safely transferred to a waiting ambulance.

A BBC film crew was rather too keen to get its 'on the spot' report and found themselves cut off by the rising waters. Fortunately a lifeboat was nearby and ferried them to dry land. * 'Rows of headlights from submerged cars lit the way' zz Six crew were left clinging to railings when their lifeboat was caught by an uncontrolled torrent of water, sucked under a road bridge and swept away down river.

25 The elderly were particularly at risk. Among many others, crews rescued one bewildered and hypothermic woman from her flat, helped an elderly diabetic who was found unconcious and evacuated all the residents of a retirement home, including a 99-year-old woman.

s= Crews had to take special care after a strychnine storage facility leak contaminated flood waters over a large area.

s: The RNLl was also a victim, with our regional office in Uckfield under over 1m of water. All the computers were wrecked, everything up to the third draw in the filing cabinets was ruined, and staff and volunteers removed five skips full of muck and detritous from the ground floor of the building.Why help out inland? Many people wonder why the RNLl was involved in rescuing people from flooded homes far away from the coast. Although our established purpose is to save lives at sea, we have always responded to calls for help in floods where appropriate. In addition, the RNLI Plan for 2000 and Beyond states that we will 'pursue innovative ways of extending the role of the RNLl to save more lives... land] prepare plans to support civil emergencies'. As the severity of the flooding meant that lives were at risk, the expertise that our crews were able to offer was vital in ensuring the safety of flood victims. However, the RNLl does not simply dispatch boats inland whenever a flood occurs. There are clear procedures to follow to ensure that we can make a real contribution to the rescue effort.

The RNLI's operations department liaises closely with other emergency services, and only sends lifeboats to flood areas when requested by the local police or fire service.

When a request is received it goes first to the chief of operations who assesses whether lifeboats can be of service.

If the situation is considered to be life threatening, he gives authority for the RNLl to respond in accordance with our national flood response plan. Crews are selected from the lifeboat stations closest to the flooded area and a senior staff member from the local division heads for the scene to act as on-scene commander. He keeps in close contact with other emergency services, who work together to help people as quickly as possible.

The lifeboats used in flood relief come from our Poole Depot. Only in exceptional circumstances would a lifeboat be withdrawn from a coastal station to help with flood relief.

Likewise, crew only take part in flood relief if they are not needed at their local station. The on-scene commander constantly monitors the situation and decides whether relief crew are needed if the operation lasts some time. Once all people who were deemed to be in danger have been removed to a safe place of refuge, then he will discuss the withdrawal of the RNLl with the co-ordinating authority.