Newhaven lifeboat crew members to feature on primetime BBC Two documentary

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) volunteer crew from Newhaven RNLI will feature in this Thursday night’s episode of Saving Lives at Sea.

The episode includes crew members from the Sussex branch rescuing two paragliders who had fallen into the sea on Christmas Eve last year.

Lewis Arnold, coxswain/mechanic at Newhaven RNLI and featuring in the upcoming episode, said: “I’d just cleaned up the station, had put the dog on the lead and was going home to wrap some presents when the pager went off, so Plan B went into action.

"When we arrived both paragliders were on a rocky ledge with the tide coming and no phone signal. One of them jumped in and swam towards us, but the second, who couldn’t swim was knocked off the ledge by a wave.”

Despite challenging tidal conditions, the pair were safely brought back to shore and handed into the care of waiting paramedics.

The incident features on the programme alongside rescue stories from other RNLI stations and beaches around our coasts.

Featuring footage captured on helmet cameras, the series lets viewers witness rescues through the eyes of the RNLI lifesavers while meeting the people behind the pagers.

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Including interviews with lifeboat crews and lifeguards, the series will also hear from those who were rescued and are here to tell the tale, thanks to the RNLI.

The series will begin on Thursday this week at 8pm on BBC Two and will also be available on BBC iPlayer following broadcast.