Lifeboat rescues Wear teen castaway (From The Northern Echo)

Lifeboat rescues Wear teen castaway

12:48am Thursday 29th July 2010 in

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A 13-year-old boy who was cast adrift on the River Wear as part of a prank had to be rescued by a lifeboat.

The teenager was left stranded aboard a small tender about ten metres from the river bank, opposite Sunderland Glass Centre.

The Sunderland lifeboat was launched at 8.20pm on Wednesday who took the lad, from the Hendon area of the city, to the quayside.

Paul Nicholson, Senior Helmsman at Sunderland RNLI Lifeboat Station, said: "The teenager involved in this incident could have easily found himself in serious difficulty had he ended up falling from the tender into the river.

"Thankfully on this occasion the potentially dangerous prank was sighted by a passing police officer who immediately reported to situation to the Coastguard Operations Room."

The boy was later escorted home by the police.