BUDE Coastguard and Rescue Team were paged at 11.27pm on Friday, December 6 to a report of a woman who had fallen into Bude Canal.

As the team made their way to the scene, they were made aware that the woman had self-recovered, but was in need of immediate assistance. On arrival at the Crescent car park, a search team in full water rescue gear was deployed to locate the casualty. After a short search, the casualty was located in long grass on the towpath. She was in the early stages and treated for hypothermia.

The casualty was kept warm in the coastguard rescue vehicle and wrapped in blankets while waiting for ambulance, first-responder and police to become available.

With no sign of the situation improving, the officer in charge requested permission from the duty senior coastal operations officer to use the coastguard rescue vehicle to take the casualty to the safety of the minor injuries unit at Stratton Hospital, where she was left in the capable hands of those on duty.