A FINAL assessment exercise for Minehead lifeboat helmswoman Rajinder Webber turned into a real-life drama when an emergency alert was received during the session.

Ms Webber launched the lifeboat at 6.30pm with coastal lifeboat trainer Lyle Stantiford, from Poole, in Dorset, on board to assess her capabilities.

But within minutes she was tasked with tackling a real emergency in St Audries Bay, where two people and their two dogs were cut off by the tide close to the site’s iconic waterfall.

The Minehead Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) station’s second lifeboat was also launched and on arriving at the scene in a rolling surf, a rescue swimmer went to reassure the trapped people.

Both lifeboats stood off in order to wait for tidal conditions to change, which they did within an hour.

With improving sea conditions, Ms Webber made a skilful landing of the smaller D-Class lifeboat and both people and their dogs were safely extracted from the beach.

They were then transferred to the larger Atlantic 85 lifeboat and taken to Watchet Harbour, where a Coastguard team was waiting to help them.

An RNLI spokesperson said: “This marks our newest D-Class helm’s first shout.

“Rajinder was in the process of being put through her paces by a lifeboat assessor when her abilities were further tested in this real scenario.”

Mr Stantiford said: “Raji did admirably in a very stressful situation, commanding the boat while under assessment, and managing a tricky casualty transfer with six people and two dogs aboard.”

Lifeboat launch authority David Smith said: “Flexibility, and adapting to changing conditions in the blink of an eye is a key part of our role.

“These are the times when regular training and assessment really pay off.”

Minehead’s volunteer RNLI crew has had a busy start to 2025 with three callouts during January.