A quick response by two Eastbourne Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) volunteers helped save the life of a two-year-old child on Saturday, April 8. Coxswain Mark Sawyer and his son David sprang into action after being alerted about a non-breathing child on the beach near the all-weather lifeboat station at Sovereign Harbour.
The pair, who were at the lifeboat station by chance as David was dropping Mark off after a day out together, were approached by a manager from Sovereign Harbour. The manager had received a call from a concerned member of the public who had spotted the RNLI flag above the boathouse and sought help.
Upon reaching the scene, David was first on scene followed by Mark who took over CPR, and after a short time managed to get the casualty breathing again and then into the recovery position, maintaining breathing until paramedics arrived on scene.
“RNLI volunteers spend countless hours training for various scenarios, including casualty care, and we were able to put this training into action on that afternoon. We hope the casualty makes a full recovery, and our thoughts and good wishes are with them and their family,” said Mark after the incident.
