A lifeboatman's wedding reception lost several guests on Saturday night when crew members were called away to a mercy mission.

Tenby RNLI volunteers had to tear themselves away from the festivities and the Wales v England rugby game on the television to respond to the incident involving a 94-year-old woman wiuth a suspected broken leg on Caldey Island.

Many of the volunteers were at Tenby's Giltar Hotel, celebrating the wedding of fellow crew member Jonathan Lewis, when the call came, just 10 minutes into the game.

Tenby lifeboat press officer and crew member Ben James said: "RNLI volunteers never know when the call for help may come, but are always ready to respond to their pagers.

"The Tenby crew were just settled down to the game, many of them at a wedding.

"We still had a great turn-out of volunteeres ready to resond - that's what you sign up to as an RNLI volunteers. If someone needs your help, you don't think about anything else, you just go.

"I'm just glad I managed to press 'record' before dashing out through the door on this particular occasion!"

Leaving the bridegroom to carry on his celebrations, and to watch the rugby, the crew launched the all-weather lifeboat shortly after 8.30pm, with two paramedics aboard.

They were responding to a call to Milford Haven coastguard which stated that the elderly lady had fallen on Caldey Island and required medical assistance.

Three crew members and the paramedics were dropped off at the island jetty, where they were escorted to the lady's house by car.

Once at the scene, the paramedics assessed the casualty and suspected that she had broken her femur.

Said Mr James: "It was decided that the safest and most comfortable mode of getting her to hospital would be by air, so RAF Rescue Helicoper 169 was requested.

"In the meantime, the casualty was made comfortable before being placed onto a stretcher and taken by car up to the landing pad at the lighthouse."

The helicopter, from RAF Chivenor, landed just as the paramedics and lifeboat crew arrived at the lighthouse. The wom an was taken straight aboard the helicopter before being flown to Morrison Hospital, Swansea.

*Tenby RNLI volunteers were not the only crew forced to abandon Saturday's match - the lifeboat in Beaumaris, north Wales was also called out on a 'shout' just before kick-off.