Police asked for Coastguard help when a car was found abandoned on the clifftop, apparently after having been driven through several of the safety fences. A Coastguard team searched the base of the cliff but found nothing.

A female kite surfer suffered a suspected broken pelvis after she was dragged along the beach by her kite and hit a concrete groyne near Hunstanton Sailing Club. A paramedic at the scene put the casualty on a stretcher. Hunstanton Coastguard loaded the stretcher onto their vehicle and transported the casualty off the beach to a waiting ambulance, which took her to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King’s Lynn.

MRCC Yarmouth paged Hunstanton Coastguard and requested the launch of Hunstanton Lifeboat after a windsurfer was reported to be in difficulties. The incident was resolved before the Coastguard vehicle arrived on scene.

South-westerly winds of force 6–7 proved challenging for two windsurfers who got into difficulties off Hunstanton. Hunstanton Coastguard team and lifeboat were both paged, though the lifeboat was quickly stood down. The casualties, a man and a woman, managed to reach the shore cold but safe. The Coastguard helped them recover their rigs.

Hunstanton Coastguard was paged and the lifeboat launched after a windsurfer was reported to be in difficulties. On arriving at the scene, the Coastguard team found that the windsurfer had reached the shore safely.

MRCC Yarmouth paged the Hunstanton team after a dinghy capsized near the powerboat ramp. The two occupants were able to wade to a sandbank, from where both they and their boat were rescued by a jetski rider.

A report of someone in difficulties in a dinghy triggered a callout for Hunstanton Coastguard. The “casualty” turned out to be a windsurfer who was not in any trouble. Hunstanton Lifeboat was in attendance.

When the Beach Patrol reported that two children were missing, MRCC Yarmouth paged the Hunstanton team. The children were quickly found safe and well, but then there was a report of a third missing child. This one too was soon found.

Hunstanton Coastguard was paged by MRCC Yarmouth after an 80-year-old man was reported missing. The team searched the seafront from the powerboat ramp to the clifftop car park. Police reported that the man had been found in the town.

MRCC Yarmouth paged the Hunstanton team after a person was reported to be in trouble in the water. The team was stood down five minutes later.

Hunstanton Coastguards rescued a woman from the Great Ouse a short distance south of the A47 bridge. The woman, a good swimmer, had apparently jumped into the water near South Quay, and was carried upstream on the flood tide.

Coastguard volunteer Stuart Coote, wearing a lifejacket and line, was able to reach the casualty, who was by now cold and exhausted, and brought her to shore with the help of Coastguard volunteer Graham Kiddell and other team members.

Thick fog on the river complicated the rescue effort by the Coastguard team, fire crews, a Conservancy Board launch and the Hunstanton lifeboat. The lifeboat was stood down shortly before arriving on scene.

A complex callout involving three separate missing children and the missing father of a fourth child. All were found as soon as the Coastguard team arrived on scene.

Hunstanton Coastguard team members on a routine patrol were asked by MRCC Yarmouth to investigate a report of a dead porpoise or dolphin. They were diverted from this task to search for a missing child. Police and an RAF helicopter were also involved. The child was soon found safe and well.

Hunstanton hovercraft reported two dinghies possibly in trouble off the cliffs. Coastguards investigated but found nothing.

Later on this busy afternoon MRCC Yarmouth tasked Hunstanton Coastguard to the fairground area, where a kayaker had been reported to be in trouble. Nothing out of the ordinary was seen.

Hunstanton Coastguard was paged by MRCC Yarmouth after three boys were reported missing. Two of them, both aged 15, were found quickly but the third was not. A search involving police, an RAF helicopter, Hunstanton Lifeboat and the RNLI hovercraft soon located the third boy, aged 6, safe and well.

Hunstanton Coastguard was paged by MRCC Yarmouth after two boys were reported missing on a boogie board opposite the beach patrol station. Both were quickly found safe and well. Coastguard team members gave the boys and their mother some friendly safety advice.

Hunstanton Coastguard was paged by MRCC Yarmouth after a child was reported missing on the beach at Old Hunstanton. The child was found at the RNLI shop.

Hunstanton Coastguard was paged by MRCC Yarmouth after a child was reported missing on Brancaster beach. The child was quickly found safe and well.

Hunstanton Coastguard was alerted by MRCC Yarmouth after a member of the public reported finding a mine buried in the sand. Team members met the informant to collect details, but were unable to find the object since it was now submerged by the rising tide. Meeting again later that evening, they located a solid vehicle wheel resembling an anti-tank mine, and removed it from the beach.

A major rescue incident involving police, the fire service and Hunstanton Coastguard took place when a woman jumped into the river with an ebb tide running. Hunstanton Lifeboat and RAF helicopter Rescue 125 were also called, but stood down before arriving at the scene. The casualty was recovered from the water north of the Fisher Fleet and taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

Hunstanton Coastguard requested the launch of Hunstanton Lifeboat after a member of the public reported a windsurfer in difficulties with a broken mast. With assistance from the Coastguard, the lifeboat brought the casualty safely to shore.

Police asked for Coastguard help when a man threatened to jump into the river at King’s Lynn. The man was not found, despite a search that also involved a helicopter and Hunstanton RNLI hovercraft, but police knew when he had left the town because they were able to track his approximate position using signals from his mobile phone. The Coastguard team was stood down, though the police search continued.

A well-intentioned false alarm was raised when a swimmer had not returned to his clothes on the beach, 30 minutes after entering the water near the Sea Life Centre. By the time Hunstanton Coastguard arrived on scene, the man had been spotted emerging from the water safe and sound.

A member of the public raised the alarm when two young men were spotted adrift in a dinghy, around 400m offshore near the lifeboat station. MRCC Yarmouth requested Hunstanton Lifeboat to launch, and paged the Coastguard team. The lifeboat crew recovered the casualties and their boat.

A Hunstanton Coastguard team on a routine patrol was told by MRCC Yarmouth that a member of the public had found an artillery shell on the beach at Titchwell. The team identified the spot and found a total of three shells, all of which were inert.

The crew of the Wash Monster alerted MRCC Yarmouth when they spotted up to five people and a dinghy on a sandbank off the powerboat ramp. The incoming tide was starting to run strongly. When they arrived at the scene, Hunstanton Coastguard team members saw that, with difficulty, the casualties were able to make their own way safely to shore.

A well-intentioned false alarm was raised by a member of the public who spotted what looked like a person in the water and a yellow dinghy around 500m offshore. On looking through their telescope, the Coastguard crew discovered that the “dinghy” is in fact a yellow buoy. Hunstanton Lifeboat was launched but stood down before arriving at the scene.

As Hunstanton Coastguard team members were packing up their carnival float, a call from MRCC Yarmouth requested them to go to the lifeboat station because a kite surfer had been reported to be in trouble. The Coastguards kept watch while the casualty was picked up by Hunstanton Lifeboat and returned safely to shore.

MRCC Yarmouth paged Hunstanton Coastguard and Hunstanton Lifeboat when a man got into difficulties after swimming out to help a stranded seal. The lifeboat crew picked up the casualty approximately 400m off the lifeboat station, and returned him to the beach. The Coastguards used their vehicle to take the man back to his girlfriend.

Shortly after the departure of Rescue 125 (see previous entry), the Hunstanton patrol team was directed by MRCC Yarmouth to Heacham North Beach, where an item of ammunition had been reported. The item turned out to be a complete round of cannon or machine-gun ammunition which, though small, was potentially lethal. The team remained on scene for several hours until the arrival of bomb disposal experts from the Royal Navy's Southern Diving Unit (SDU2) from Portsmouth, who made the item safe.

Hunstanton Coastguard team members out on a routine patrol were tasked by MRCC Yarmouth to Brancaster, where an elderly man had collapsed on the beach near the golf club. On arrival at Brancaster the team helped ambulance paramedics and cleared a landing site for Sea King helicopter Rescue 125 from RAF Wattisham. Amid a large crowd of onlookers, the helicopter landed safely and took the casualty and his wife to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King’s Lynn.

Today’s safety message: helicopters are dangerous! If one lands or takes off nearby, hold on to children, dogs and loose items of clothing, and be prepared for a sandstorm. The Sea King is a big helicopter, and you will be surprised at the strength of the downdraught. Never approach a helicopter on the ground unless you have permission from the crew.

The search for the missing dinghy sailor (see previous entry) resumed early in the morning. Taking part were Hunstanton and Wells Coastguard teams, Rescue 125 from RAF Wattisham, two USAF helicopters, and lifeboats from Cromer and Wells. After an extensive sea and shoreline search from Brancaster to Blakeney, MRCC Yarmouth stood down all search teams later in the day.

Hunstanton and Wells Coastguard teams were alerted after a sailing dinghy was found capsized off Sheringham. The boat’s owner was believed to be a middle-aged man who had been seen in Wells on Monday and was planning to sail back to Burnham Overy. After a police check of local pubs, the Coastguard teams were stood down for the night. A helicopter search continued.

The Hunstanton team was paged by MRCC Yarmouth after a windsurfer was reported in trouble near the sailing club. On arriving at the scene, Coastguards located the casualty about 200m offshore. With the Lifeboat in attendance, the casualty made his way safely to shore.

MRCC Yarmouth was told by a member of the public that a jet ski was stuck on a sandbank near Hunstanton powerboat ramp, and that two people were waving for help. By the time the Hunstanton Coastguard team arrived, the jet ski had been re-floated.

Two military phosphorus flares were reported at Heacham and a third at Brancaster. Hunstanton Coastguard team members located the Heacham flares and marked them for disposal by a military team. These flares are marked “US Navy” and are aluminium cylinders, rather than the usual rectangular wooden box type (Mk 6). As with all phosphorus flares, they are dangerous and should not be approached by the public.

Hunstanton Coastguard joined police to search for a middle-aged man believed to be in a distressed state. He was eventually found by police at Hunstanton. A police helicopter was on scene.

Hunstanton Coastguard was asked by the police to help with a major night search for a man missing between Snettisham and Hunstanton. Coastguards searched the shoreline, while the RNLI hovercraft covered the low water mark. RAF helicopter Rescue 125, which carries an infra-red camera and night vision equipment, located the missing man near Heacham north beach and took him to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King’s Lynn.

A member of the public alerted Hunstanton Coastguard to a car cut off by the tide at Brancaster harbour. Team members found the driver and a companion stranded but safe in the car park. By this time the tide was falling, so the car’s occupants were left to make their own way home in due course.

A large rescue effort was launched when a man in his late 30s got into difficulties in the river near the West Lynn ferry stage, apparently after wading in. The ebb tide was flowing strongly at the time. He was rescued by the pilot cutter, with ambulance staff on board. Hunstanton Coastguards helped transfer the casualty to a stretcher and then to a waiting ambulance.

When a windsurfer in trouble was spotted near the powerboat club, MRCC Yarmouth paged Hunstanton Coastguard. There was a problem paging the lifeboat, so the 29-year-old male casualty was picked up by the Wash Monster and returned safely to shore.

MRCC Yarmouth paged Hunstanton Coastguard following a report from a member of the public that a horse and rider were in difficulties in the mud. On arriving at Snettisham, the team found the 68-year-old rider safe, but his 12-year-old mount stuck fast around 500m from the beach. With encouragement, the horse tried several times to stand, but with no firm ground it soon sank back into the mud, which in places was up to the rescuers’ knees. Under the supervision of a vet and an RSPCA officer, Coastguards and fire crews from Sandringham and King’s Lynn used ropes to pull the horse back to firm ground.

On a fine sunny afternoon, Hunstanton Coastguard received a report from MRCC Yarmouth that two boys were missing near the pier. On arriving at the scene, they found that only one boy was involved, and that his parents had already found him and gone home. A police helicopter was also involved.

MRCC Yarmouth paged Hunstanton Coastguard after a man in his 40s broke his leg on the beach west of Thornham harbour. After locating the man’s family and the community paramedic, the Coastguard team used their vehicle to transport the paramedic to the casualty via The Firs and along the beach. They used their stretcher to carry the casualty back to Thornham, where he was transferred to the paramedic vehicle.

Hunstanton Coastguard organised a safe landing area when the crew of RAF search and rescue helicopter Sea King 125 took a break for rest and refreshment at the Le Strange Arms Hotel, Hunstanton. After an exercise with Cromer lifeboat earlier in the day, the aircraft went on to a night exercise with Hunstanton lifeboat.

A Coastguard patrol sent out to look for phosphorus flares between Snettisham and Brancaster found one at Holme. It was later destroyed by the Royal Navy bomb disposal team.

Following a report of two dead porpoises on the beach at Titchwell, Coastguards attended to collect details. Porpoises, like whales, dolphins and sturgeon, are “fishes Royal”, and the Coastguard has certain legal responsibilities when they are found stranded. The information collected is passed to the Natural History Museum as well as to the Receiver of Wreck.

A Coastguard patrol went out to look for a phosphorus flare that had been reported the previous day by a member of the public, between Snettisham and Heacham. The Royal Navy bomb disposal team destroyed this flare at approximately 09:00.

The team then carried out a search for further flares, and found one at Holme Gap. This was destroyed at around 18:00.

The same day, the Royal Navy and other Coastguard teams dealt with several other flares around the coast towards Cromer.

Two more phosphorus flares were discovered on the sea wall at Heacham North Beach, where they had apparently been placed by a member of the public. As we have previously explained, handling these flares is dangerous. The Royal Navy bomb disposal team arrived from Cromer, where they had been called to dispose of two further flares. The Heacham flares were destroyed in a controlled explosion on the beach by the rifle butts.

A fourth phosphorus flare turned up at the lifeboat station, where it had been brought by a member of the public. As noted previously, this is extremely dangerous. If you find one of these flares, in a wooden box marked “Do Not Touch”, inform the Coastguard and do not try to move it. The Navy bomb disposal team used specialist methods to move the flare safely to Titchwell. They then used a controlled explosion to destroy it, along with the flare discovered at Titchwell the previous day.

Another phosphorus flare was reported on the beach at Titchwell RSPB reserve. Coastguards located the flare, cordoned off the area and searched the beach from Thornham to Hunstanton while waiting for the Royal Navy bomb disposal team (Southern Diving Unit 2) to arrive from Portsmouth. At 19:30 SDU2 used a controlled explosion to destroy the two flares at Brancaster.

Arriving on scene to deal with a phosphorus flare (see previous incident), Coastguards were approached by a man who told them that an elderly woman was missing. Coastguards searched the beach, while the police searched inland. At 13:45 police located the missing woman near Docking, safe and well.

Coastguards responded to a report of a military phosphorus flare on the beach near the golf club. They noted its position and cordoned off the area. While carrying out a search for a missing person (see next incident) they discovered a second flare. These phosphorus flares, in wooden boxes marked “Do Not Touch”, are very dangerous. If you find one, call the Coastguard on 999 and tell us where it is. Under no circumstances try to move it.

Police became concerned about a middle-aged Cambridgeshire man who had been missing since Thursday night. Hunstanton Coastguards checked the beach between the sailing club and the lifeboat station, but found nothing. The search was then stood down by MRCC Yarmouth.

Following a request from MRCC Yarmouth, two Hunstanton Coastguard team members checked the sea front at Hunstanton and Heacham around the time of the high tide. The sea was very rough and there was a risk of flooding.

Hunstanton Coastguard was paged by MRCC Yarmouth following a report that two yachts were overdue at Brancaster. The team was stood down when the vessels were found to be in no danger.

Returning from their explosives job (see previous entry), the team found a loose horse in danger of straying onto the A149. They informed police, rounded up the horse and located its owner.

Coastguards helped a large team from the Royal Navy’s Southern Diving Unit 2 with their annual clear-up of World War II artillery shells on Holme beach. Jobs included filling in the craters left after SDU used controlled explosions to destroy the shells. The team returned the following day to check that any remaining holes were not causing a hazard.

MRCC Yarmouth requested Hunstanton Coastguard to look for a kitesurfer in trouble, after a member of the public reported a drifting kite. By the time two members of the Coastguard team arrived on scene, the kite had been recovered by its owner. The man had lost control of the kite whilst he was still on the beach, changing into his wetsuit.

A young man of 16 fell and injured his arm while kitesurfing on Brancaster beach, approximately 500m east of the golf club. The ambulance crew requested Coastguard help while still en route, and the first member of the Coastguard team was on scene before the ambulance arrived. Coastguards used their own stretcher and four-wheel-drive vehicle to transport the casualty to the ambulance, which was waiting at the golf club car park.