Eastbourne RNLI called to swimmer in distress by pier

Volunteer crews from the RNLI were called at 1pm on Wednesday, July 6 after Solent Coastguard received a 999 call reporting a person in distress in the sea west of Eastbourne Pier.Crews from Eastbourne’s RNLI launched the Inshore lifeboat and made their way to the last reported location of the casualty. Whilst on route they received an update from a Coastguard Rescue team who had eyes on the casualty advising that the casualty was actually a swimmer with a swim buoy.The crew continued to the location and checked on the swimmer to be sure they were OK. Once they had confirmed the person didn't need assistance, they were stood down and returned to the station.The call was deemed to be a ‘false alarm with good intent’ by the RNLI team.