IT was a busy 24 hours for RNLI volunteers over Thursday and Friday when they were launched to deal with a number of call outs.

The Redcar lifeboat crew was tasked to search the River Tees after a member of the public reported sighting a possible person in the water near the Riverside football stadium, Middlesbrough.

The crew launched after the alarm was raised shortly before 1.30pm on Friday afternoon.

The volunteers searched the stretch of river but were unable to locate anyone in difficulties. A wider search found a tree trunk which could have been the cause of the call and the lifeboat was subsequently stood down and returned to Redcar.

Earlier in the day the lifeboat had also been sent to the River Tees to assist in the search for a missing person. The person was found ashore by other emergency services.

The previous evening, at 9pm on Thursday, the Redcar lifeboat was sent to Saltburn to tow to safety a small fishing boat which had broken down with two people and a dog on board.