THE RNLI Dart lifeboat crew came up against one of the river’s sternest opponents – mud.

Members were taking part in an exercise under the direction of team paramedic Haydn Glanvill.

It involved training on how to move a casualty on a stretcher – which moved as a sledge on the mud – from Old Mill Creek.

Press officer John Fenton said: ‘Before the exercise the crew were quite confident about their ability to deal with the conditions. They soon learned that the mud on the banks of the Dart should only be approached after full training and with the right equipment.

‘Several valuable lessons were learned, including the importance of having boots that fit tightly round the feet.

‘The RNLI boots are an integral part of the dry suit, but if the boot becomes stuck in the mud it becomes very difficult to lift as the crewman’s foot pulls out of the boot. They were also taught the technique of self-extraction from the mud and how to make their way, on their backs, to return to the water.’

As the exercise was drawing to a close and Storm Imogen was building, a call was received from Solent Coastguard to attend a practically submerged small boat, north east of the Mewstone.

It had been initially spotted by walkers on the coast path who reported it to volunteers at the National Coastwatch Institution at Froward Point.

There was a two-metre swell and the wind was gusting to 27 knots.

The lifeboat crew of Buster Hart, Mark Conroy and Dean Nettleton found the cream-coloured tender off Kelly’s Cove in Start Bay.

Mr Fenton said all the evidence suggested there had been nobody in the boat when it broke free and the tender was towed into Dartmouth.