SEVERN Area Rescue Association crews helped rescue a man adrift in a rowing boat and a sinking boat in Chepstow at the weekend.

The crew from the Beachley Station also helped nine people who were in difficulty after walking on rocks in the River Severn with an incoming tide on Saturday afternoon. SARA’s volunteers were also providing safety cover for the British Orienteering Championship event in the Forest of Dean on the weekend.

Around 15 to 20 volunteers from SARA and Chepstow Coastguard were involved in the incidents in what proved a busy weekend.

Crews from Chepstow and Newport assisted South Wales Fire and Rescue Service at an incident in the River Usk on Sunday. They were called at 7.30pm to a person reported to be in difficulty in the River Wye at Chepstow.

A SARA spokesman said no one was found to be in trouble in the water but lifeboat one then immediately assisted with a boat in Chepstow that was sinking.

The SARA crew manually bailed out the water until the high volume pump arrived and was put in to action on board the boat. Once the boat was emptied of the water from the boat and it was then taken to a safe location for its owner to fix.

SARA's lifeboat three was launched to assist a person adrift in a rowing boat in the River Wye at Chepstow. The man rescued was taken on board lifeboat three and his boat was towed back to the safety of the Chepstow Pontoon.

Lifeboat one then located a missing vessel which had come off its mooring and was swept up stream towards Tintern with the fast running tide. The missing vessel was located and returned to Chepstow.

Crews stood down at around 10pm on Sunday.

Gwent’s SARA Lifeboat and Rescue Centre at Chepstow currently has 63 crew drawn from villages and towns between Cardiff and Gloucester, with ages ranging from 17-year-olds to 90-year-olds.

For more information about SARA visit www.sara-rescue.org.uk