Lifeboatman to get bravery medal

A Portrush lifeboatman is to be awarded a bravery medal for rescuing two boys from a cave last August.

Anthony Chambers (50) is to be awarded the Royal National Lifeboat Institution's (RNLI) bronze medal for gallantry for rescuing the two 14-year-old boys who were trapped by the rising tide in a cliff cave near Castlerock Strand on August 5th, 2009.

The RNLI Portrush lifeboat mechanic saved the boys by swimming into the sea cave on the Antrim coast.

The lifeboat mechanic had to make two journeys, swimming in with lifejackets and guiding the boys back out in a very heavy swell. Both were treated for slight hypothermia and were winched aboard the Sligo-based Irish Coast Guard Sikorsky helicopter, but were otherwise fine when checked out in Coleraine hospital.

The tide was rising and breaking over the boys’ heads when Mr Chambers reached them, said the RNLI. They were wearing only shorts and T-shirts.

In a statement issued today, RNLI divisional inspector for Ireland Martyn Smith said: "Having been trapped in the cave for over three hours ... on a rising spring tide, there is no doubt that the boys were in very real danger.

"The actions of Mechanic Chambers in making two entries to the cave to rescue the boys demonstrated selfless courage without regard for his own safety," he said.

"Entry into the cave required immense physical and mental effort, especially as he was hindered on both occasions by the additional lifejacket and helmet carried for each boy. Swimming continuously for half an hour in surging swells, often colliding the cave walls, Mechanic Chamber's determination and resourcefulness were critical in saving the boys' lives that day."

Inshore lifeboat helmsman Gerard Bradley, Portrush inshore lifeboat crew members Karl O'Neill and Jonathon Weston, along with their colleagues on the all-weather boat - coxswain William McAuley and crew members David Conley, Gary McLaughlin, Adrian Tohill and Ivan Bell - will also be honoured for their part in the rescue.