THE Severn Area Rescue Association (SARA) has had a busy weekend, attending seven incidents on the waters around Chepstow.

While providing safety cover for the British Orienteering Championship event in the Forest of Dean on Saturday and Sunday, (18th and 19th April) the volunteer crews dealt with six separate call-outs.

A crew from the Beachley station dealt with a group of nine people walking on rocks in the River Severn with an incoming tide on Saturday afternoon. Thanks to the crew's quick actions all nine people got back to the shore just before the area they were walking around became covered in water.

On Sunday at around 2am, SARA's crews from Chepstow and Newport were tasked to assist South Wales Fire and Rescue Service at an incident in the river Usk.

Also on Sunday at around 7.30pm, Milford Haven Coastguard called SARA to a person reported to be in difficulty in the River Wye at Chepstow, although no one was found to be in trouble in the water.

Lifeboat 1 was then immediately tasked to assist with a boat in Chepstow that was sinking, the crew from Lifeboat 1 manually bailed out the water until the High Volume pump arrived and was put in to action on board the boat, once the boat was emptied of the water it was taken to a safe location for its owner to fix.

While Sara Lifeboat 1 was dealing with this, SARA Lifeboat 3 was launched to assist a person adrift in a rowing boat in the River Wye at Chepstow, The gentleman was taken on board Lifeboat 3 and his boat towed back to the safety of the Chepstow Pontoon. Sara Lifeboat 1 was then tasked to search for a vessel that had come off its mooring and was swept up stream towards Tintern with the fast running tide, the missing vessel was located and also returned to Chepstow.

The crews were stood down at around 10pm.

Around 15 to 20 volunteers from SARA and Chepstow Coastguard were involved in these incidents.

Gwent's SARA Lifeboat and Rescue Centre at Chepstow currently has 63 crew drawn from villages and towns between Cardiff and Gloucester, with ages ranging from 17 to 90. There is always room for more people willing to join the Lifeboat and Land Rescue teams.

For more information about SARA see http://www.sara-rescue.org.uk">www.sara-rescue.org.uk