A swimmer who got into difficulty has been rescued by volunteers from the RNLI.
Barrow RNLI was called out yesterday morning after reports that a swimmer in the Walney Channel was in distress.
They were called at around 11.40am and were told that a lone male swimmer in the Channel off Roa Island was struggling against the tide which had just turned after high water.
The alarm had been raised by observers from the shore, one of whom was from Ulverston Inshore Rescue.
He also assisted a kayaker to launch his craft into the water so that he could make his way out to the casualty. This provided something for the casualty to hold on to until the lifeboat arrived.
The Barrow inshore lifeboat, Vision of Tamworth, was launched at 11.53am with Jonny Long at the helm assisted by crew member Saul Tomlin.
The casualty was about 150 metres out from the lifeboat station which meant that the lifeboat was very quickly at the scene and able to haul the casualty aboard to safety.
A few minutes later, the lifeboat was back at the lifeboat station where the casualty received immediate care in the crew room.
Paramedics from the North West Ambulance Service also responded to the incident and on arrival at the lifeboat station carried out an assessment of the casualty.
A spokesman for Barrow RNLI said: “The successful outcome to this rescue was in no small part due to the assistance of the kayaker and the member of Ulverston Inshore Rescue to whom we extend our thanks.”
