Volunteers from Whitehaven Coastguard Rescue Team and St Bees Lifeboat were called away from an event after an unattended inflatable boat was found off the west coast.
The teams were taking part in a training exercise with Workington RNLI in Whitehaven harbour when the call came in at around 2.30pm.
Whitehaven Coastguard Rescue Team said: “With no persons seen onboard, and with concerns that there could be a person overboard, or onboard who may have experienced a medical emergency, ourselves and St Bees RNLI were tasked to investigate.
“We arrived on scene and working with the RNLI confirmed that the boat was empty and no signs of having been used recently.
“With the boat now having drifted ashore, a hasty search was conducted along the shoreline by Coastguard and RNLI, with nothing untoward found. Identification markers onboard showed the vessel was from Wales.
“This information was passed to the control room and the boat was recovered so as to ensure it wasn’t refloated by any youths.”
