A COASTGUARD team spent almost 500 hours dealing with incidents and emergencies in 2017. 

As the new year starts, West Bay Coastguard Rescue Team have looked back on their activity over the last year, which included searches for missing people and welcoming a previous police inspector as a new member of the team.

It was a quiet year according to the team, but it has celebrated a 'rare' year in which they were not called to any incidents in which someone lost their life. 

West Bay Coastguard attended 34 incidents in 2017, a decrease of 11 compared to 2016. These included treating and evacuating five injured people from beaches, coastal paths and cliff tops who had suffered broken bones, fractures and dislocations.

The team searched for and found seven lost, missing or vulnerable people on the coastline, responded to two calls from vessels in distress at sea, assessed four large cliff falls and investigated and catalogued three beach dolphins and porpoises.

They also responded to three reports of people at risk on the coast, two reports of suspected ordnance, and even helped a man who had become stuck in mud. 

As well as all of this, the team helped to secure a helicopter landing site for medical evacuation, provided safety cover for police dealing with a beach incident and undertook five further investigations around the coastline. 

A spokesman for West Bay Coastguard said: "In total the team spent 448 man hours on operations dealing with incidents and emergencies, 451 hours training, practicing skills and conducting local area patrols and 164 hours checking, cleaning and maintaining equipment and vehicles.

"We also spent 142 hours attending schools, scout groups, local fetes, country shows, events and fun days promoting sea safety and the work of the coastguard including radio and TV interviews."

One volunteer, Trevor Knight, was awarded for 20 years of service and received a good conduct medal. The team also welcomed new recruit Alan Jenkins who was known previously as a police inspector based in Bridport. 

The spokesman added: "We want to thank all of those in the police, fire, ambulance service and other agencies we have worked with over this year.

"A very special thank you goes out to our friends, family and loved ones who support us in the work that we do, which can so often be disruptive to family life."