RNLI volunteers from Weston feature in the Saving Lives at Sea episode. Picture: BBC

Weston RNLI rescue to feature in TV show tomorrow night

Paul JonesOctober 1, 20250 Comment0

THE heroic efforts of RNLI volunteers in Weston-Super-Mare will feature in a TV show tomorrow night (October 2).

At 8pm on Thursday night, BBC Two and the iPlayer will show Saving Lives at Sea, with the episode featuring a dramatic incident in North Somerset.

In April 2024, Weston’s volunteer lifeboat crew was called to a rescue of two people who got stuck while trying to cross the derelict Birnbeck Pier.

“In what was a very tense few hours, the team worked with Avon Fire & Rescue Service, who were coordinating the response, and other emergency services to assist in guiding the pair back along the pier to Birnbeck Island where they had been when they got cut off by the fast moving incoming tide,” a spokesperson said.

“They were then picked up by the D class lifeboat before being transferred into the Atlantic class lifeboat and brought safely to shore.”

Chris Cox, volunteer lifeboat crew for Weston RNLI, recalled: “It was one of those incidents where a lot could have gone wrong very quickly, and viewers will be able to relive the tension alongside us as we standby ready to react quickly, while the pair are carefully guided off the pier, and relief as we secure them on the Island and bring them safely back to Weston.

“A number of the incidents we respond to involve people attempting to access Birnbeck Island and Pier, but it is incredibly dangerous.

“The Severn Estuary has the highest tidal range in Europe and third highest in the world and as times and heights vary throughout the month, we are often faced with people who are stranded on the Island and requiring help.

“Attempting to return via the causeway is extremely dangerous due to the fast-flowing tidal current, and as viewers will see, attempting to cross the pier itself is fraught with danger.

“At the moment the walkway is broken with rotten planks and there is the risk of falling from the pier or being hit by falling debris.”

Birnbeck Pier is the subject of an on-going restoration bid – with the RNLI itself featuring in controversial circumstances, having pulled out of funding part of the project.