A lifeguard has been praised this week after he heroically rescued three children in difficulty in the sea off Amroth. Twenty-seven-year-old Liam Murphy went to the aid of the three boys who were drifting off shore in a north-westerly breeze on Tuesday afternoon. The trio, aged five, 10 and 13, who were from Bristol, got into trouble shortly after 4 pm. The lifeguard, who is staying at Cold Inn during the summer, but comes from the Mumbles where he is in the coastguard rescue team, swam approximately threequarters-of-a-mile out to sea to rescue the children and brought them safely back to the shore. Tenby coastguard team and the resort's inshore lifeboat also responded to the incident, while another lifeguard, Liz Moss, aged 22 and from Lamphey, assisted on the beach. Members of the coastguard team duly gave the youngsters suitable safety advice on the dangers of using inflatables, while they also tended to the lifeguard who was exhausted and emotionally shaken. "The actions Liam took were very brave," said HM coastguard sector manager, Dave Miller, who warned that these should not be the actions a member of the public should take. "Liam is fully trained for this eventuality," he stressed. The incident was one of a number of shouts the emergency rescue units have been called to over the past week.

Missing child

Action began on Monday when a four-year-old girl was reported missing from Saundersfoot Beach. The girl had been unaccounted for for four hours when the alarm was raised. Coastguards from Tenby, lifeguards, police and members of the public joined the search for the child, who was holidaying with her grandparents. She was, however, located with another family, by a member of the coastguard team, and reunited with her grandparents.

Later that afternoon, the coastguard unit were tasked to Tenby's South Beach following a report of two missing girls. As a search of the area was being co-ordinated, lifeguards found the girls, aged eight and nine.

Injured man

As that incident concluded, coastguards went to the aid of a man who sustained a dislocated knee while playing football on Tenby's Castle Beach. Two of the team, who were also paramedics, attended to the casualty and were satisfied that no further treatment was needed.

Fishermen cut-off

As dusk began to fall, there was still no rest. A man and two boys, one aged eight and the other five, who were fishing near Coppet Hall, Saundersfoot, got cut-off by the tide. The man telephoned the coastguard for help at approximately 8.40 pm. Tenby's inshore lifeboat was duly launched and the coastguard team dispatched. The anglers, who were on holiday from Pontyberem and staying in Summerhill, were located by the coastguard team, who directed the inshore crew to their position. They were then rescued by the craft and conveyed to Wiseman's Bridge. Apart from being very cold, they were unharmed by the incident.

Safe and well

On Tuesday afternoon, Tenby coastguard team and the inshore lifeboat crew were tasked to South Beach following a report of a missing 10-year-old boy who had been missing for 30 minutes. The boy, who had a blue and white inflatable dinghy in his possession, was however, found safe and well by a lifeguard just prior to the rescue teams arriving on scene at 1.15 pm.

Evacuated

Less than two hours later, Tenby and Manorbier coastguards were requested by ambulance control to assist paramedics with the evacuation of a 73- year-old woman who had fainted near the bandstand on Castle Hill. The pensioner, who was from Brecon, was conveyed to the ambulance and taken to Tenby Cottage Hospital.

Recovered

Two 14-year-old girls from Blackburn, Lancashire, who got into difficulties in an inflatable dinghy off Tenby's South Beach, were recovered by a local vessel at approximately 6 pm. The inshore lifeboat was launched to assist and the coastguard unit tasked. The girls, who were cold, but unhurt, were given suitable safety advice.

Air and sea search

Later that evening, an air and sea search was launched after fishermen reported losing sight of two boys who had been walking along the foreshore at low water between First Point and Waterwynch. The inshore lifeboat, coastguard team, all-weather lifeboat, the RFA Sir Galahad, police and the force's helicopter, all responded to the incident. A search of the area led to members of the public at Waterwynch reporting that they had seen two lads swimming past Waterwynch towards Monkstone. Two boys fitting the missing pair's description were also seen climbing the steps from Monkstone Beach, but it turned out not to be them. The missing boys, aged 13 and 15, who were staying at Lydstep, were eventually located back at the Rectory Car Park in Tenby, where their guardian's vehicle was parked.

Medical assistance

Three children needed medical assistance on Wednesday in separate incidents in Tenby. During the afternoon, a 10-year-old boy, who was on a day trip with his mother and grandparents from Swansea, was reported ill with chest pains and breathing difficulties after coming out of the water at Castle Beach. He was tended by coastguards and paramedics, before being taken to the ambulance for further tests. Then, at 5.15 pm, coastguards and ambulance staff attended the Paragon Beach where a 13-year-old girl from Cardiff had sustained a suspected ankle fracture after tripping while skim boarding. She was assessed by lifeguards prior to their arrival and conveyed to an ambulance at South Beach car park in the lifeguard quad bike, before being taken to hospital. It was a busy night for the units, who were deployed to Amroth at approximately 10.10 pm after an eight-year-old girl had fallen five feet off the sea wall. She was lying on pebbles on her back when the emergency services arrived on scene. She was immobilised by the coastguard team and ambulance paramedics and taken to Withybush Hospital, Haverfordwest.