Milestone call out for Loch Ness RNLI

Loch Ness RNLI embarked on their 250th call on Wednesday night to locate an overdue kayaker.

Answering this milestone call for the station was trainee crew member, Toby Stainton, who responded to his pager on the evening of his birthday.

The lifeboat was paged at 10.15pm and the crew joined UK Coastguard teams in a search for the person – after a thorough search the kayaker was located safely ashore.

The RNLI established a lifeboat station on Loch Ness in 2008 and during this time, the volunteers have completed a variety of rescues and saved lives.

Joanna Stebbings, the station operations manager, said she was immensely proud of her team and the difference they had made throughout the 13 years.

She said: "This call marks the 250th time our volunteer crew have launched on service. Loch Ness is a very popular place for visitors from across the world and it gives us great satisfaction in knowing our charity have a lifeboat ready to launch to those in difficulty."

Volunteers help the RNLI providing a lifesaving service around the UK and Ireland. To support the charity visit here.

Related article: Search and rescue operation in Loch Ness involving lifeboats, a coastguard team and a helicopter after concerns raised over the safety of a kayaker

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