Kinghorn’s RNLI crew were called out on Friday evening after receiving a report of an inflatable being blown out to sea.
The report, which came from the nearby Seton Sands holiday resort at 6.45pm, claimed that an inflatable had been dragged away from the shore, with passengers still possibly aboard.
The Kinghorn crew quickly attended the scene, where they were able to work with the coastguard and contact the owner of the inflatable who confirmed that it was empty.
Inflatable ‘toys’ not fit for the sea
While the incident ended without any casualties, Kinghorn Helmsman Neil Chalmers has warned that these kinds of inflatables can present a danger when used improperly.
He said: “These are toys, they aren’t fit for the sea at all.
“We’ve had multiple call outs for these in recent weeks and the usual issue is that they just aren’t suitable for the open sea.
“I think if people really have to use these inflatables at the beach then they should be tethered so that there’s no chance of them blowing away.
“But really I would say try not to use them at all, it’s as simple as that.”
Not the first time
Friday’s call was not the first inflatable-related report Neil and his crewmates have received.
Just last week the Kinghorn team attended another incident where inflatable toys were blown out to sea.
Broughty Ferry lifeboats received a similar call-out on the same day.
“We’ve had maybe eight to ten calls like this recently,” Neil said.
“I wouldn’t recommend anybody use these near the sea, but if you do and they fly away please give us a call.”