Tenby RNLI lifeboat volunteers have taken part in a further multi-agency exercise, in light of concerns over ongoing ‘tombstoning’ incidents around the seaside town’s harbour.

Authorities stated over the summer that several injuries and ‘broken bones’ had been sustained during the school holidays, due to youngsters taking risks by jumping off heights around the seaside town’s harbour area into water below.

Such incidents forced Pembrokeshire County Council to issue more warnings over the dangers of jumping off the pier at Tenby harbour and other parts, following an increased impact on services.

HM Coastguard and the RNLI also highlighted once again the serious risk of injury that jumping from height into the sea can cause, especially near working boats - which is extremely dangerous and can have serious consequences.

The Local Authority pointed to an incident that occurred over the summer, when large groups gathered at the harbour to jump into the sea, leading to two youngsters suffering ‘broken bones’.

Footage appeared on social media, of youngsters once again climbing onto the roofs of private properties at the harbour, to launch themselves into the water.

The latest exercise by the RNLI, was a follow up to another they conducted last month, centered around a simulated tombstoning incident, where a twenty-year-old jumped 30ft off the rocks and was subsequently found face down in the water.

Tenby RNLI shared: “On the evening of 8th September, we held the second of our joint exercises with the Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust.

“We once again decided to base it around a tombstoning incident due to the huge issues that Tenby has seen with large groups of youngsters jumping from high places into the sea this summer.

“The exercise began with a report that a person was witnessed to jump from a building and enter the water upside down, injuring his neck, leading to loss of feeling in his lower limbs.”

Both lifeboats were launched, with Paramedics and EMTs aboard the all-weather lifeboat.

“The inshore lifeboat was first on scene and two crew members entered the water to support the casualty, who was now being taken along the coastline with the current.

“With the all-weather lifeboat now on scene with extra crew members to assist, the casualty was immobilised and placed in the basket stretcher before being moved close to and then hoisted out of the water onto the larger lifeboat, where he was handed over into the care of the ambulance medics.

“Once alongside in the harbour, the stretcher was carried onto the pier, where the ambulance crew practiced moving the casualty safely from our stretcher to theirs before a ficticious trip to hospital.

“Multi agency exercises like this are invaluable in allowing us to practice our skills and learn what each service is capable of in as close to a real life incident as we can get and although we hope never to have to deal with an incident like this, we know that we have the necessary training and equipment to do the job,” they added.