Port St Mary lifeboat station was put to the test on Wednesday morning with two consecutive call-outs.

Firstly, the HM Coastguard paged the crew of the Trent class all-weather lifeboat ‘Gough Ritchie II’ at 10:44am to assist a catamaran boat that was having difficulty negotiating the entrance into Castletown Outer Harbour.

Having assessed the situation, the RNLI lifeboat team advised that they would fire a rocket line to the catamaran to assist the berthing operation and allow a mooring line to be passed and secured.

After being released from the incident, the all-weather lifeboat returned to Port St Mary, arriving back on the mooring at 12:15pm.

However, they were soon to be called out again.

A spokesperson from the lifeboat station said: ‘The boarding boat had been washed down and the boathouse doors were about to be closed when a member of the public telephoned to report that children were screaming from the swimming platform in Chapel Bay.

‘Mike Teare, the Port St Mary RNLI lifeboat operations manager, immediately authorised the launch of the inshore lifeboat to attend.

‘The crew discovered two boys who were screaming with delight rather than fear. The inshore lifeboat crew ensured that the boys were not in danger and persuaded them to make it back to the shore on their bodyboards, keeping them under observation until they reached the beach safely.’

Mike said: ‘It was a busy morning for the crew, who are always ready to respond to a call for help at the drop of a hat.

‘Although the children were not in danger in the second shout, it was a genuine call with good intent from a member of the public.

‘With summer holidays now here, if you see any situations that require assistance, call 999 and ask for the coastguard. Incidents at sea can escalate very quickly so every second counts.’