VOLUNTEERS for the Queensferry Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI) were called out to incidents off the West Fife coast twice in under a week.

They were two of seven call-outs made by the volunteer crews between Sunday, February 5 and Saturday, February 11.

On Wednesday, February 6, at 4.37pm, Queensferry RNLI was informed that a bystander had reported that a dinghy had collapsed under the Forth Road Bridge and that two people were in the water.

The crew rushed to the scene where they righted the dinghy and got the people back on board. A local safety boat supported this and the lifeboat escorted the dingy and its crew to Port Edgar where they were handed over to the Coastguard.

The second incident, on Saturday, February 11, was reports of a paddle boarder in distress in the area between the Forth Rail Bridge and Forth Road Bridge. Volunteers searched the area but were stood down as the call was, thankfully, confirmed to be a false alarm with good intent.

Davie Smart, Lifeboat Operations Manager for Queensferry RNLI, said: “You never know when the next time is you’ll hear the pager go off, but we are always ready, and this was certainly an exceptional week.

"The utmost thanks go to the volunteers for dropping everything multiple times this week. Also thank you to the volunteers' families and employers for their support, flexibility with plans, and their patience.”