Two rescued by Thames lifeboats

The new lifeboat service on the Thames has been hailed a success after crews rescued two people early in the new year.

Since the official launch six days ago, the new Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI) crews have received 12 calls for assistance and responded to six more before the launch.

Early on New Year's Day the crew at Chiswick lifeboat station picked up someone from the river near Westminster Bridge. The next day the same crew rescued another person who had fallen into the Thames at Waterloo Pier.

Wayne Bellamy, station manager at Chiswick, said: "All the crew are incredibly excited to do this and are very proud of their role. All the work, effort and training have brought about a rapid result, and everyone is astonished at how quickly we have been able to make a difference."

The Teddington crew were also called out by police on New Year's Eve to retrieve the body of a missing person washed up at Molesey Lock. Malcolm Miatt, station manager at Teddington RNLI, said: "Our crew have been greatly surprised by the number of shouts they have received.

"The entire crew is made up of volunteers, including everyone from graphic designers to sewage engineers, who work on a pager basis. Given that they work on a voluntary basis, they have responded admirably."

Seven RNLI high-speed jet-boats were pressed into service last Wednesday after more than a decade of campaigning for a dedicated search-and-rescue service which was sparked by the 1989 Marchioness disaster which killed 51 people.

Three other stations are now manned by RNLI crews 24 hours a day, all year, at Tower Pier, Chiswick Pier and Gravesend. The service-is the result of a Thames Safety Inquiry into the fatal collision between the Marchioness and the dredger Bowbelle which called for improved rescue cover.

Earlier this year, the Evening Standard revealed that six pleasure boat firms had failed to provide staff with safety training, contradicting the advice of Lord Justice Clarke who conducted the inquiry.

Eileen Dallaglio, whose 19-year-old daughter Francesca died in the disaster, expressed her delight that the lifeboat service is finally in operation on the Thames. She said: "Myself and other relatives of those lost in the tragedy have campaigned at great, great personal cost to ourselves for a proper search-and-rescue service.

"I am absolutely delighted that the RNLI has done so well in its first days and cannot stress enough the importance of having lifeboats along the river."

On four occasions the RNLI has been asked to assist police officers when a member of the public has threatened to jump from one of the bridges over the Thames. In all cases officers have talked people down. There have also been two false alarms and one hoax.

A RNLI spokeswoman said: "With the establishment of the RNLI stations on the tidal reaches of the Thames, the need for them has been clearly demonstrated by the number of call-outs to which the boats and crews have responded.

"The lifeboats provide an immediate response to every call-out 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and we are delighted that the lifeboat service can now offer a dedicated search-and-rescue response."