Camber Sands lifeguards rescue seriously-injured kite-surfer

RNLI lifeguards Brett Wood (nearest to camera) and Leon Driver stay with the casualty until he is taken to hospital. Photo: RNLI SUS-170708-114718001

The kite-surfer got into difficulty when one of his lines snapped and his kite spiralled out of control, slamming him into the ground several times.

The impact was so severe the man was unable to move and was trapped just feet from the water’s edge with the tide coming in fast. Alerted by a local kite surfing school at 4.40pm on Thursday (August 3), lifeguards Brett Wood and Leon Driver raced to the scene, about one kilometre to the east of them, in an RNLI patrol vehicle.

When they arrived, they discovered the casualty, a man in his forties, conscious and alert but complaining of lower back and hip pain. With the tide almost upon him, the lifeguards had no choice but to put the man on a spinal board and evacuate him further up the beach.

They were then able to put their casualty care training into effect and assess the man for possible spinal injuries. Paramedics arrived on the scene about 15 minutes later and the man was carried off the beach on an ambulance stretcher to a waiting ambulance. On examination at hospital it was found that the man had broken his pelvis.

“This is exactly the kind of situation we base our training exercises on,” said RNLI lifeguard supervisor Nathan Wilmer.

“There were four or five people on the scene who didn’t know what to do and our team got a grip on the situation.

“With the in-coming tide the lifeguards had to move him, it’s life over limb at the end of the day in that situation. They used their training to the full and dealt with this incident very professionally.”

Brett, 18, from Australia and Leon, also 18, from Hastings, are part of team of RNLI coastguards who are patrolling Camber Sands for the first time this year. Leon is in his very first season with the RNLI.

RNLI lifeguards currently patrol more than 240 beaches in the UK and Channel Islands and last year saved 127 lives. As well as rescuing people from the water they also receive extensive training in responding to medical emergencies. In total the charity’s lifeguards attended 17,414 incidents last year helping 20,538 people.