Warning over bouncy castle rescue

Cornish Coastguards are warning people to be careful about taking inflatable toys into the water after two women on a bouncy castle had to be rescued.

The women, in their early 20s, took the small inflatable castle into the water at Falmouth and ended up being blown off shore.

A passerby spotted the women shouting for help on Wednesday evening and alerted Falmouth Coastguard.

The pair were rescued by a member of the public who was in a dinghy nearby.

Safety talk

The women, who were uninjured, were given safety advice by coastguards on the dangers of taking inflatables into the water following the rescue just before 1800 BST.

People should think very carefully about the dangers of entering the water with inflatables Henry Purbrick Falmouth Coastguard

Henry Purbrick, Falmouth Coastguard watch officer, said: "Many of the cases we have to deal with are down to people not thinking about what they are doing and not taking appropriate safety advice.

"We've had some lovely weather recently and probably because of the heat these two women thought it would be a fun idea to go on the water with the inflatable castle but they hadn't thought about the consequences.

"It could have been a difficult rescue as the Penryn is a tidal river and is very muddy so they could have got stuck in the mud.

"It was not an appropriate vessel to be out on the water on. People should think very carefully about the dangers of entering the water with inflatables."