Barmouth RNLI have issued a warning about inflatables at sea after being called to incidents on Tuesday, 12 August.

At 2.33pm the volunteer crew was called to reports of a 7-year-old child in an inflatable dingy drifting out to sea on the offshore wind.

A 16-year-old reportedly swam out to help.

A passing jet skier saw the inflatable in trouble and assisted until the lifeboat reached the location.

The casualties were taken aboard the lifeboat and returned to the beach and the care of their parents.

At 3.58pm the crew was called to reports of a missing 11-year-old girl. The crew swiftly launched into calm seas and began a shoreline search. The girl was located safe at the waters’ edge and was returned to the care of her grandmother.

At 7.04pm ILB Craig Steadman was tasked by HM Coastguard for the third time today to reports of four inflatable rings each with a person on board being blown off shore on the easterly wind.

The volunteer crew made good speed to the location where the casualties hadn’t realised they had been blown so far offshore.

The four were taken onboard the lifeboat and returned to shore where they were passed into the care of the coastguard.

The crew of ILB Craig Steadman returned to the boathouse where the lifeboat was washed down and readied for service.

A spokesperson said: “Many of the emergencies we respond to involve inflatables and that is a key reason why the RNLI strongly advise against taking them to the beach.

“Inflatables are not designed for open water and it takes very little breeze for them to be swept out to sea much quicker than you can swim or paddle back to the beach. “What may seem fun at first can turn into an extremely serious situation, in a matter of seconds.”