A MAN rescued by the Penarth RNLI after his boat capsized has praised the charity's work as heroic.

Over the past few months, The Penarth Times has spoken with numerous volunteers from the station as part of our campaign to help them raise £52,000 for a new boat.

And now a survivor from an incident at sea has spoken to us about his ordeal.

Fishing enthusiast, Mark Burrows decided to go fishing with his brother-in-law, Chris Haslett, on September 10, having recently bought a Bon Witco 408 boat.

The 51-year-old said: "We set off from Cardiff, through the barrage, and ended up about 400 yards off Sully Island.

"It was a splendid day, and I remember the water being calm."

But soon after, when the caretaker pulled up the anchor to move locations, two waves suddenly appeared and "swamped the boat", around 9.10am.

"As the water came up and into the boat, my brother-in-law shouted for me to grab the radio and call mayday, which I did.

"It all happened within two seconds - one minute we were on the boat, the next in the water.

"Luckily I managed to make the call before I hit the water."

A strong swimmer, Mr Burrows said he was able to tread water, before managing to climb onto the capsized boat.

"I remember my brother-in-law hanging on to the auxiliary engine," said Mr Burrows. "It was just dreadful. But within five or six minutes I spotted a helicopter approaching with a boat which had heard our mayday.

"I was just so worried for Chris who was very shook up and cold - I feared he could have been dragged out to sea."

A few minutes later, the Penarth lifeboat team arrived to take the survivors back to shore, where warm clothes and hot food awaited them.

Mr Burrows said he felt deeply grateful for the professionalism shown to him by the Penarth RNLI.

"They were absolutely fantastic and I cannot thank them enough for making us feel safe," he added.

"Their concern for our well-being was very moving.

"Everyone should support them."

*EVENLODE Primary School will hold a orange, white and blue dress day to raise funds for the new boat campaign.

It will be held on Thursday October 20, with pupils learning about the work of the RNLI and taking part in a variety of activities throughout the week.

All money raised will go directly to the appeal.

If you have any fundraising ideas that could give the appeal a boost we would love to know.

Get in touch by emailing your ideas to penarthtimes@penarthtimes.co.uk.

To donate to the cause, send a cheque made payable to Penarth Lifeboat Appeal to Penarth Lifeboat Station, The Esplanade, Penarth, CF64 3AU.

You can also donate online by visiting https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/penarthlifeboatappeal1