A warning was issued today after trips out to the seaside nearly ended in tragedy for several people. An off-duty auxiliary coastguard sprang into action and the Redcar lifeboat was called out three times in 48 hours over the weekend as soaring temperatures saw day-trippers flock to the coast. Each time, children were in danger of drowning after they took to the sea in small, inflatable dinghies. Today mercy crews pleaded with people not to sail on the sea in small dinghies. The major dramas occurred at around teatime yesterday. At 5.45pm, two children were rescued from a dinghy floating three quarters of a mile offshore in Coatham Bay. The 12-year-olds, from Darlington, had hypothermia and were "extremely frightened" by the time they were saved, Redcar Lifeboat's deputy launching authority Dave Cocks said today. The boys, who found the dinghy on the beach earlier in the day, were given first aid at the lifeboat station and interviewed by police. Just moments later, the lifeboat, Leicester Challenge II, was again called out to save two more children on a similar inflatable in the same area of Coatham Bay. They were quickly rescued and returned unharmed. While the Redcar dramas were ongoing, off-duty auxiliary coastguard Paul Waugh was in action at Saltburn. Mr Waugh, who had hired a surfboard for his day off, saw a woman on an inflatable around 30 yards beyond Saltburn Pier. With the woman in obvious distress, he paddled out on his board and dragged her back to shore. The woman, originally from Leicester but who has just moved up to Middlesbrough, was shocked but unharmed. Less than an hour later, Mr Waugh spotted a youngster - one of a group jumping from the pier into the sea - clinging to a pier leg. Again, he paddled out and helped him ashore. He said today: "People just do not realise how dangerous inflatables are. We try and tell people to put a rope on their airbeds and boats so they do not get blown away or taken by the tide. "The lad who jumped in told me he couldn't swim, but his mates said they'd help him." Yesterday's Redcar and Saltburn emergencies followed an incident at 6.30pm on Friday when three children and an older teenager, all from Stockton, were blown out to sea near Zetland Park, Redcar, in a dinghy bought from a local store earlier that day. The quartet, none wearing lifejackets, were around a mile out to sea when rescued. Dave Cocks said that in all the Redcar cases, the children's parents were on the beach. He said: "The message is simple - never take an inflatable dinghy onto the sea. Each year, lives are lost unnecessarily and it is the responsibility of parents to make sure their children play safely." Evening Gazette comment | 
