Boys rescued (From Barry And District News)

Boys rescued

THREE youngsters were plucked to safety in a dramatic rescue in the Old Harbour at Barry at the weekend.

Barry Coastguards and lifeboat crew were involved in rescuing three boys who were trapped by the rising tide on the wreck of the Pixus Maximus on Sunday.

The youths had been playing with friends on the old hulk in the harbour as the tide came in.

Their friends had got off the wreck before the sea surrounded them, but Mark Watkins, Ben Youde and Mark Grindale decided to stay and jump into the sea from the Pixus.

When they tried to come ashore, they walked towards the car park, heading straight for the muddy area.

Dave Ball, of Barry Dock RNLI, said: "This is a dangerous area where the mud can suck you down quickly to a depth where you cannot move." The Coastguard advised the youths to return to the wreck where a lifeboat from Barry Dock could rescue them.

The boys did as requested and jet skiers practising nearby passed messages to them. One of the jet skiers then started to carry the boys to the harbour arm.

Another jet skier commandeered a punt to take the last boy ashore. The Lifeboat arrived and put its small Yankee inshore boat into the water to ensure everyone's safety in the incoming tide.

As the boys had been in the water for some time, and because there was a cold wind, hypothermia was a possibility.

The Ambulance Trust checked the boys. After the paramedics had given the all clear, the police took them home.

Dave Ball added: "This could have been as tragic as the five-year-old girl who died off Brean earlier in the day. Luckily this time all the boys were fine, but if they had ignored warnings about the mud the outcome could have been much different."