Waving, not drowning On 5 September 2005, RNLI lifeguards from Bantham and Sedgewell Cove saved four young canoeists. Bantham lifeguards found two of the children out of their canoes, waving and shouting and another two hanging on to an upturned canoe, severely distressed. Between sets of waves the lifeguards reached two of the boys and pulled them into the inshore rescue boat.

Promising the other two that they would be back, they quickly beached the pair with a Sedgewell lifeguard and returned.

Lifeguard Joe Olroy-Owen recalls that one of the children had inhaled a lot of water: 'The smallest lad was taken to hospital by ambulance - if we hadn't been there he could well have drowned.' Ten-year-old Jonathan wrote to the lifeguards..