'I lived to see my son's wedding because of RNLI'

A paddleboarder has said she would not have lived to see her son get married without the RNLI.

Melissa Filby, from Braunton in Devon, got swept more than half a mile out to sea in 2021 when she was using an inflatable paddleboard off Saunton Sands.

She was "cold and near to hypothermia" when she was rescued by the crew of an inshore lifeboat from nearby Appledore, according to the RNLI.

Mrs Filby said: "I've been able to see my son get married, they're having a baby so the new generation of my family; I'm going to get to see that because of the RNLI."

Mrs Filby, an experienced cold water swimmer, said it was a "massive relief" when she saw the "orange bit of the boat coming".

She said she owed the lifeboat service "a very big thank you", adding: "In your hour of need they're here."

Simon McCarthy, one of the crew that day, said Mrs Filby was "very, very cold and disorientated" when they found her.

He said the crew had to get her out of the water, "warmed up" and back to shore urgently.

In April Mr McCarthy is due to take over as the coxswain at Appledore, which celebrated its 200th anniversary on Friday.

Appledore received the first ever RNLI lifeboat anywhere in the UK on 28 February 1825, the service said.

The boat, named the Volunteer, was used at the station until 1858.

Current coxswain Michael Bowden, whose son, father and grandfather also volunteered for the Appledore RNLI station, said the older boats were "very very basic, all open".

"You've got to take your hat off to those men."

Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].