PENARTH’S RNLI Lifeboat was called to rescue people from Sully Island twice in the space of the last week – despite the recent installation of a traffic light warning system.

During both rescues Penarth Coastguard assisted and provided safety advice to those that had been rescued after the tide had come in. In both cases the people rescued said that they hadn’t seen the traffic light sign before departing to the island, but in the second rescue the group said they were aware of the tide times and had not phoned to be rescued.

Penarth Coastguard also assisted in the rescue of a man that had fallen 40 feet down the cliff at St Mary’s Well Bay on Wednesday morning. He was tended to by paramedics before being taken by helicopter to the University Hospital of Wales.

On Sunday, June 29, Penarth Coastguard were tasked to a person cut off by the tide on Sully Island at 6.13pm.

A spokesman from Penarth Coastguard said they were called after two people were seen making their way across the causeway as it was flooding, with one turning back to the mainland and thye other wading in chest deep water to the island.

Penarth Lifeboat Station’s Inshore Lifeboat (ILB) was launched to check on the casualty on the island, who was planning to stay there overnight, and they were brought back to the mainland.

On Monday, June 30, Penarth Coastguard was tasked to a report of two people cut off by tide on Sully Island at 6.42pm.

They arrived to find two casualties on the island. Penarth Lifeboat Station’s ILB arrived to take the casualties off the island to be met by the coastguard team. Both were safe and well, they had walked along the beach from Sully and gone straight across the causeway.

Following the rescue one of them took to Penarth RNLI’s Facebook page to say that they had not called for assistance, that they had checked the tide times and were fine with how long it would take for the tide to be low again, and that “a local got spooked or something and thought better safe than sorry. We were quite surprised to see the boat come on over to us.”

In the early hours of Wednesday morning, July 2, Penarth Coastguard was called to a report of a 44-year-old man that had fallen 40 feet down the cliff at St Mary’s Well Bay.

A Penarth Coastguard spokesman said: “Our team stabilised the casualty and provided first aid until the Welsh Ambulance Service paramedic arrived. We also setup a Helicopter Landing Site (HLS) on the beach to enable RAF Rescue 169 to rescue the casualty.

He added: “Barry Coastguard were also tasked to provide backup and setup a HLS at Blackweir to assist in the transfer of the casualty to a land ambulance for onward movement to University of Wales Hospital Cardiff. All units were stood down and returned to station at 3.05am. A very good team effort by all involved.”