Always at the ready, HM Coastguard turned out on New Year’s Eve for a rescue call, but after some tense moments realized it was a “dummy.” Having some fun with the callout, the team posed with the “rescued” subject and posted it online for a lighter moment.
HM Coastguard Fleetwood, covering a section of the Lancashire coast above Blackpool in the North West of England on the Irish Sea, got the callout at 1030 on December 31. It was a report of a person or “person-shaped object” drifting in the water off the coast.
When they arrived in the cove, the informant pointed out the object which was “suspiciously, person-shaped but clearly not a person,” reports HM Coastguard. “Upon closer inspection of a video taken by the informant, we immediately recognized it as the type of dummy used for man overboard drills by maritime organizations and training schools.”
The Coastguard admits, “from a distance, this made for a very concerning sight in the water.” Based on the sighting they said the informant “did absolutely the right thing” in calling it in for investigation.
HM Coastguard Fleetwood rescuing a "dummy"
“Since it was only in a couple of feet of surf, the officer in charge took the decision to send a rescuer into the water to perform a tethered rescue to prevent the dummy from causing more concern and confusion as it drifted up the shoreline,” report the Fleetwood team. “After we had safely recovered our casualty to the promenade and made sure they didn't require any further assistance, we handed them over to wyre council for disposal.”
Happy it was not a more difficult situation, the crews posed with the “dummy” and posted the pictures to social media.
