Coastguards get on their bikes

Devon’s Ride-On Cycling For All – a volunteer organisation that refurbishes bikes for good causes – has given seven bicycles to volunteers at Teignmouth lifeboat station to help them beat traffic queues when responding to call outs.

The Teignmouth lifeboat crew carry out over 40 rescues every year and the bikes will help the crew negotiate the bustling streets and get to the lifeboat station swiftly so that they can reach anyone in trouble at sea quickly.

“Time is critical when responding to shouts," said crew member Tony Watson. "It is our aim to reach at least 90 per cent of all casualties within ten nautical miles of the coast within 30 minutes of launch, no matter what the weather.

“Our crew, who are all volunteers, will stop what they are doing the minute the pager goes off and set off for the station. As a charity, we rely on the goodwill of the public to fund our service, and we are hugely grateful for the generosity of Martyn and the team at Ride-On.”

The station is planning to brand the bicycles so that the public are aware that RNLI crew members are riding them.

Bike brands like Wisper are among those who have seized the opportunity to bring their brand to the emergency services.

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L-R: Steve Brock (shorehelper), Pete Shillabeer (crew member), Charlie Woolnough (station manager), Andy Case (volunteer), David Cox (Mayor of Teignmouth), Sylvia Russell (Teignmouth Town Councillor), Martyn Laxton (Ride-On Cycling For All), Matt Down (lifeboat mechanic), Giles Squirrell (helmsman), Jimmy Cran (shorehelper).

PIC CREDIT: RNLI/Tony Watson.