Two wildlife spotting boat trips became part of an emergency rescue when they helped save six sea swimmers who had got into difficulty at Barres Bay near Trevose Head, Cornwall, on Sunday morning.
An RNLI lifeboat, coastguard teams and a rescue helicopter arrived at the scene to find four of the swimmers had been recovered by crews on board vessels operated by Padstow Sealife Safaris and Wavehunters, with help from lifeguards. The remaining two swimmers had scrambled on to rocks and were winched to safety by Coastguard Rescue Helicopter 924 based at Cornwall Airport Newquay. None of the swimmers were injured.
A spokesperson for HM Coastguard Padstow said: "Thank you to Harlyn lifeguards, Padstow Sealife Safaris and Wavehunters for assisting the casualties, we are so lucky to live within such a great community.
"We very much appreciate and applaud the team effort and swift response.
"You were all incredibly brave and undoubtedly saved lives before the incident had a chance to escalate further."
Jo Rowles was aboard the Wavehunters boat and said it had been "a massive learning experience for our kids, the sea is a cruel mistress".
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Padstow Sea Safari Boats Join Rescue of Six Swimmers