RescUe PeRILoUs PLAY swept along by the powerfully ebbing tide, a 9-year-old girl’s survival depended on the reaction of her local lifeboat crew a powerful ebbing tide, a 9-year-old girl’s Jade Kerrison was playing with a friend at south Quay, Great Yarmouth in suffolk. it was 7 June 2007 and the sun was beginning to set. the pair were larking around when suddenly Jade fell into the River Yare. it was a 4m drop and water was surprisingly cold.

Her friend ran to tell Jade’s mother.

Caroline Kerrison recalls: ‘as i was running down to the quayside i was screaming: “no, Jade, no, Jade”. i thought she must have gone under and we would not fi nd her.’ But remarkably, Jade had resurfaced and caught hold of a lifebelt thrown to her by onlookers.

the little girl used all her strength to hang on to the lifebelt in what was a strong tidal current. Jade describes the experience: ‘i remember falling and started swimming.

When i went under, i grabbed hold of something. my hands slipped and i got pulled by the current until i managed to grab the lifebelt and then hold on to some stairs. i felt upset and very cold.’ Had she lost her grip, Jade would have been swept out into the path of a cargo ship. the growing crowd on the quayside could now do nothing but watch and wait.

it was then that the Great Yarmouth and Gorleston atlantic 75 lifeboat came to the rescue.

Lifeboat Helmsman Jade Kerrison was playing with a friend at South Quay, Great Yarmouth in Suffolk. It was 7 June 2007 and the sun was beginning to set. The pair were larking around when suddenly Jade fell into the River Yare. It was a 4m drop and surprisingly cold.

Her friend ran to tell Jade’s mother.

Caroline Kerrison recalls: ‘As I was running down to the quayside I was screaming: “No, Jade, no, Jade”. I thought she must have gone under and we would not fi nd her.’ But remarkably, Jade had resurfaced and caught hold of a lifebelt thrown to her by onlookers.

The little girl used all her strength to hang on to the lifebelt in what was a strong tidal current. Jade describes the experience: ‘I remember falling and started swimming. When I went under, I grabbed hold of something. My hands slipped and I got pulled by the current until I managed to grab the lifebelt and then hold on to some stairs. I felt upset and very cold.’ Had she lost her grip, Jade would have been swept out into the path of a cargo ship. The growing crowd on the quayside could now do nothing but watch and wait.

It was then that the Great Yarmouth and Gorleston Kevin Bennington recalls: ‘We launched Seahorse IV in just 3-4 minutes after a call from the Coastguard at 9.09pm. Jade was only 1 mile from the station but, as she’s a small girl, she took some fi nding. We spotted her in the water very cold, in shock, with real fear on her face.’ For the crew it brought back awful memories of the search for Daniel entwistle in 2003. Jade was 500m or so from where 7-year-old Daniel is thought to have fallen to his death.

the extreme danger to Jade of the fast moving tide meant that Kevin could waste no time: he drove straight in and Crew members scott Kennington and andrew mason plucked the 9-year-old out of the water. the crowd above clapped and cheered the crew.

Getting Jade back up to the quayside would be tricky and time consuming, so Kevin decided to take her back to the station for urgent medical assistance. scott held the child tight to try to warm her up.

From the lifeboat station an ambulance transferred Jade to Gorleston’s James Paget university Hospital but she was later discharged. Kevin describes Jade as ‘very, very lucky’ to have survived both the strong ebb fl ow and temperature of the water.

Reliving the ordeal Jade’s mother is full of praise for the lifeboat crew who took only minutes to reach the scene. sitting cradling her daughter now safely at home again, Caroline says: ‘i could not believe how quickly the lifeboat got there. i want to thank the people who saved her.’ Atlantic 75 lifeboat came to the rescue.

Lifeboat Helmsman Kevin Bennington recalls: ‘We launched Seahorse IV in just 3–4 minutes after a call from the Coastguard at 9.09pm. Jade was only 1 mile from the station but, as she’s a small girl, she took some fi nding. We spotted her in the water, very cold, in shock, with real fear on her face.’ For the crew it brought back awful memories of the search for a little boy in 2003. Jade was 500m or so from where the 7-year-old is thought to have fallen to his death.

The extreme danger to Jade of the fastmoving tide meant that Kevin could waste no time: he drove straight in and Crew Members Scott Kennington and Andrew Mason plucked the 9-year-old out of the water. The crowd above clapped and cheered the crew.

Getting Jade back up to the quayside would be tricky and time consuming, so Kevin decided to take her back to the station for urgent medical assistance. Scott held the child tight to try to warm her up.

From the lifeboat station an ambulance transferred Jade to Gorleston’s James Paget University Hospital but she was later discharged. Kevin describes Jade as ‘very, very lucky’ to have survived both the strong ebb fl ow and the temperature of the water.

Reliving the ordeal, Jade’s mother is full of praise for the lifeboat crew who took only minutes to reach the scene. Sitting cradling her daughter now safely at home again, Caroline says: ‘I could not believe how quickly the lifeboat got there. I want to thank the people who saved her.’ Research: Andy Bash.