A NEW lifeboat has helped save the life of a man just minutes after it was unveiled to the public.

On Sunday, Pwllheli volunteers were showing members of the public around the new D class lifeboat Robert J Wright – named after a former councillor and RNLI stalwart – when the lifeboat was called into service for the first time.

The casualty, a male who had fallen off his boat, was spotted over half a kilometre out to sea and was stuck in the water for over 30 minutes before he was rescued by RNLI members.

Fortunately the man was wearing appropriate safety gear which greatly enhanced his odds of survival.

The crew were originally paged to a possible casualty in the water as an unmanned boat was found on Pwllheli promenade beach.

Read the full story in today’s Arfon/Dwyfor edition of the Cambrian News