THREE dramatic sea rescues were carried out this week as warm spring weather lured sunseekers to the coast.

In the most dangerous incident, a man and his daughter suffered hypothermia after being thrown from their canoe.

The pair had been caught in swell off Yarmer beach, near Thurlestone, on Saturday afternoon.

A fast-running tide, large swell and many rocks in the area presented challenging conditions, but the Hope Cove Lifeboat was quickly on the scene.

The casualties were recovered and taken back to Hope Cove, where both were found to be suffering from hypothermia and were treated by first responders at the lifeboat house while a rescue helicopter was scrambled.

With help from Hope Cove Coastguard, a helicopter from Portland landed on the beach at Inner Hope and the man and his daughter were taken to Derriford Hospital, where they made a full recovery.

It was a well-coordinated and swift operation involving several organisations and the chairman of the Hope Cove Life Boat, Graham Phillips, was only too aware of the significance.

He said: 'This was one of those situations where, without the speed and professionalism of everyone involved, we could have had a very different outcome.

'Though it is unusually warm for this time of year the sea is still extremely cold and we were delighted with the rapid response of our crew in getting to the casualities as quickly as they did. Of course, we were very thankful to the coastguard for their support.'

The incident came after another pair of canoeists encountered difficulty off Challaborough Beach on Friday.

Having paddled down the river Avon and around Burgh Island, a young man and woman were caught in a swell which overturned their inflatable canoe about 200 metres off the shore.

Both were well equipped, but the strength of the sea prevented them from being able either to right their canoe or make headway to the beach.

Bigbury Coastguard alerted the MCA at Brixham, who requested the Hope Cove Lifeboat to launch and the team were on scene with the casualties less than 15 minutes from the initial call. The boat picked up the couple and their canoe and took them to dry land where they were treated for slight shock and mild hypothermia.

Saturday's incident saw new crew member 20-year-old Adam Burke take part in his first call out. Adam is one of a group of young crew who have been trained over the past 12 months.

Graham Phillips said: 'While we operate 365 days a year, the winter months are obviously far quieter than the summer and we have intensified our training during this past winter, not just with new members but also keeping our regular team on their toes.

'We have been delighted with the dedication and professionalism of the whole team during this training, something that was highlighted again this weekend as we only need three crew to operate the boat, yet nine responded, which made the 'on land' side so much easier.'

Another new recruit got the opportunity of his first call out on Sunday when a dog needed rescuing at Ayrmer Cove.

Joe Brocklebank, 18, was on the boat when it was called to assist Bigbury, Yealm and Hope Cove Coastguard in the Yealm area, who were involved in the rescue off Toby point.

Fortunately this too ended happily when the dog was located safe and well at the base of the cliff and was reunited with its owner.