SANTA was very nearly called on to fulfil his other role as a volunteer lifeboat crew member on Saturday after reports came in of a capsized boat off Aberystwyth.

The volunteer crew from Aberystwyth RNLI were busy manning stalls at their Christmas fair in the bandstand when their pagers went off at around 11.15am alerting them to a dinghy belonging to Aberystwyth University Sailing Club that had capsized just off the harbour entrance.

The crew quickly assembled at the lifeboat station but were told the club’s safety boat had picked the two sailors up and returned them safely to shore.

The RNLI lifeboat Spirit of Friendship was quickly on scene and found the vessel to be upturned with the mast caught on the rocky sea bed area known as the trap.

The crew towed it back to the harbour and returned it to its owners.

Santa and Stormy Stan had left the bandstand to assist with the rescue but soon realised the crew had it well in hand and returned to the fair.

This is the second year the station has run the festive fundraising event, which included a winter BBQ, Santa’s Grotto, local craft stalls, a raffle and carol singing by two local choirs.

See this week’s south papers for the full story, available in shops and as a digital edition now