A NEWLY qualified lifeboat crew member helped to carry out his first rescue this week.

The Portishead and Bristol Lifeboat was called to help rescue an 18ft (6m) sports cruiser with three passengers on board off Avonmouth on Tuesday.

Among the crew who helped tow the boat, which had suffered engine failure, was 17-year-old Dan Haliburton.

The Mercury featured the Weston College student in March when he became one of the youngest qualified lifeboat crew members in the country.

It was his first call-out since passing his assessment.

It has been a busy couple of weeks for the independent lifeboat.

Police called the crew out on Monday, June 14, to recover a body from the Avon between Shirehampton and Sea Mills.

On May 27, coastguards and police received reports of people stuck in the mud and a canoeist in trouble between the Avonmouth Bridge and Pill.

But as the lifeboat arrived on scene it was established that a team of surveyors had been working in the mud and had been mistaken for people in difficulties.

The organisation is entirely separate from the RNLI and is not funded by it.

It costs £30,000 each year to keep the boat on the water, and money is raised from tin collections, grants and donations.