THE NEW coastguard helicopter, which is based at RAF St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan was called upon to rescue a man and his dogs after they became cut off, as rough sea conditions hindered the rescue attempt.

Andy Grey, Lifeboat Operations Manager (LOM) at Little and Broad Haven RNLI station, said the seamanship of the volunteer Helm and the skills of the crew of the inshore lifeboat as eight to 10 foot waves rolled in in pitch black darkness should be commended.

The RNLI crew launched last night (Thursday 29 October) after a man and his two dogs were cut off by the tide. The crew were paged at 6.54pm after Milford Coastguard received two phone calls from members of public who heard cries of help coming from Broad Haven.

The RNLI charity's D-class inshore lifeboat launched into rough seas and was on scene around 7.05pm and saw a person and two dogs at the north end of Broad Haven, just off Emet Rock, cut off by the tide.

Waves were crashing up on the rocks where he was standing.

Wave sets were rolling in at around five foot, but despite the extremely difficult conditions, the crew managed to put a member ashore to assess the casualty's condition. He was generally okay but had a slight ankle injury and was cold.

The volunteer crew member moved him further up the rocks to safety as the tide had turned and the waves had picked up in size to a good eight foot.

The coastguard helicopter was deemed to be the safest way to evacuate the man. The Bristow Search and Rescue helicopter was on scene at about 8.07pm and the man, the two dogs and the landed lifeboat crew member were lifted and put on top of the cliff in Broad Haven and were met by Broad Haven Coastguards.

After that the lifeboat crew sat off Little Haven for around an hour but LOM Andy Grey decided it was too dangerous to recover the lifeboat at Little Haven with the size of the waves dumping on the slipway.

The lifeboat was brought ashore at 9.30pm in Broad Haven, where four other crew members were readied and standing by on shore, along with Broad Haven Coastguard, who were setting off parachute flares to illuminate area and help the Helm land the boat.

Andy Grey said: “The bravery and skill of the Helm and crew during last night's shout was fantastic.

“It was pitch black and the huge waves were almost impossible to see so the Helm showed a cool head and fantastic seamanship to land a crew member to the rocks where the casualty and his dogs were. They were in danger due to the rapidly building swell and full tide.

“As the swell picked up so rapidly, it was a correct decision to call for assistance from the helicopter to evacuate the casualty and then landing the boat on Broad Haven in such huge waves required a huge amount of skill.

“I would also like to thank the four other RNLI crew members who, in full kit, came to help recover the boat with the help of the coastguard. It was a real team effort.”