Safety warning after boat rescue

The rescue happened in worsening conditions

Two couples and a one-year-old baby were rescued after a speed boat broke down and started drifting out to sea off the coast of Anglesey.

All on board were unharmed, but rescuers said the situation could easily have become "a tragedy".

Moelfre RNLI spokesman Dave Massey said the group did not have enough life jackets, had no flares on board, and could not work the radio.

He said safety measures should be followed by all those venturing to sea.

Both the inshore, and large RNLI lifeboat, with a combined crew of nine, were launched at Moelfre on Sunday for the rescue.

The four adults and baby, from Chorley, Lancashire, were aboard a 20ft boat when it suffered engine failure.

Mr Massey said the baby was "very cold, they were all wet".

Lifejackets

"The baby did have a lifejacket, but the sea safety message says that everyone on board should have one.

"The two men didn't have lifejackets and their means of calling for help was from mobile phones, which is not recommended because a mobile signal is often lost," he said.

He added that the boat did have a radio, but those on board did not know how to work it.

"They also had a GPS system, which gives us latitude and longitude - but they could only switch it on.

"There were also no flares on board, which could have been used to attract attention," he said.

Mr Massey said the weather had deteriorated during the day, with gusts of 30mph.

"They were drifting quickly out to sea," he said.

"A one-year-old baby can get cold much more quickly. A tragedy could have easily happened," he added.