Dry land distress flare put Stranraer lifeboat crew at risk
- Published
Stranraer RNLI said the false alarm had put the lives of its volunteer crew at risk
A lifeboat crew was called out in "horrible weather conditions" to what turned out to be a distress flare set off on dry land.
Stranraer RNLI said the lives of its crew had been put at risk by the "mindless act".
It followed three separate reports of a distress flare being seen in the harbour area at 23:55 on Friday.
A search was started along with Stranraer Coastguard before a used canister was found on dry land.
"Not only did this mindless act risk the lives of the lifeboat crew and coastguard teams involved, it also risked the lives of someone who may have required their assistance elsewhere," said a statement from Stranraer RNLI.
"Please do not use pyrotechnic distress flares apart from what they are designed for - to request assistance when in distress at sea.
"They can be highly powerful and if not used properly can cause severe injury or even worse."
It added that the RNLI was a charity which relied on donations and legacies in order to continue to save lives at sea.
"This incident would have cost the charity a large amount of money," added the statement.
"Our crew are all volunteers who do this for free.
"They are all passionate and committed, giving up their time to continually train and help people in trouble at sea 24/7."
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