15th May 2022 · The National Coastwatch Institution station at Porthcawl have initiated and assisted in the rescue of two stranded paddleboarders in South Wales.

During a routine scan of the coastline, volunteer watchkeepers Ann and Howard spotted two people on the rocks at the centre of Newton beach near to Porthcawl. Unfortunately, they had been washed onto the rocks while paddleboarding and one person looked like they had injured themselves as a result. A call from the NCI tower to the Coastguard Coordination Centre at Milford Haven was made and a link from the NCI camera at Newton was established to the Coastguard so that they could also assess the situation. The Porthcawl lifeboat was then paged and on launching, the crew of the Lifeboat contacted NCI Porthcawl for an update and location, which Ann & Howard duly provided. In the meantime, the two casualties had made a 999 call to the Coastguard which confirmed that they needed help

After some difficult and dangerous manoeuvring close to the rocks, the crew of the lifeboat lifted the two people off the rocks and brought them to safety to be met by the Porthcawl Coast Rescue Team who gave first aid.