Lifeboat rescues diver showing signs of 'the bends' in Cornwall

Penlee Lifeboat was scrambled to a dive vessel to treat the diver who was suffering from signs of "the bends"

A diver suffering from "the bends" was rescued by a crew from an RNLI station in Cornwall and airlifted to hospital.

Falmouth Coastguard contacted Penlee Lifeboat Station at 17:40 BST on Thursday following reports a diver on a 42ft (12.8m) dive vessel south of Porthcurno needed medical assistance.

Penlee All Weather Lifeboat was deployed, the station said.

A spokesman said the diver showed "signs of the bends and an ambulance was requested".

He said two crew members cared for the diver, who was showing signs of sickness caused by a rapid decrease in pressure, on board the vessel which followed Penlee Lifeboat to Newlyn Harbour.

Divers can suffer from decompression illness - commonly known as "the bends" - where gas bubbles form in tissues or the blood during a rapid ascent.

At the pontoon, the diver was transferred to the lifeboat to be treated by paramedics before an ambulance took them to Penzance Heliport, where they were flown by a Coastguard Search and Rescue helicopter to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth for treatment, the charity said.

Follow BBC News South West on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail].