Is Squirtle really worth all this fuss?

Weston’s volunteer Lifeboat crew were paged by Milford Haven Coastguard at 20.53pm last night.

Weston Lifeboat crew were requested to launch to a group of youths who had been cut off by the tide on Birnbeck Island.

With low water just past and the tide coming back in very rapidly the Lifeboat crew made their way around to the low water launch area.

The Avon & Somerset Police, Avon Fire Rescue and local coastguard teams gathered in the car park at the landward end of Birnbeck Island Pier in case the youths may have become trapped while exploring the unsafe “Old Pier”.

With D class lifeboat just entering the water, the crew spotted the two people wading back across the shingle bank to the shore with the tide rapidly rising to chest height.

Before the lifeboat could enter the water the two youths scrambled their way back to the shore to the awaiting coastguard team.

The Lifeboat crew then noticed that four more youths walking along the pier’s unsafe walkway back to the shore.

The crew had to leave the old boathouse on Birnbeck 3 years ago because the same walkway had been deemed too unsafe & dangerous for the Weston Lifeboat volunteers to use.

the crew waited to see all the youths make it back the shore to be met by the police and coastguard. The crew made the journey back through the mud to the station to begin a long clean down of themselves and the launching vehicle.

Once the 6 male youths had been checked that no one had been injured while the they had been on the unsafe island, the police questioned them to find out why they had put their lives in danger. Shockingly the reply was, trying to catch Pokémon.

Chris Lyons, RNLI Crew member, said: "it is great to see people getting out and about enjoying themselves however, putting your life in danger trying to catch Pokémon is extremely irresponsible.

"In Weston the tide comes in so quickly in seconds you can be in life threating danger.

"I would like to say please if you do see a Pokémon either on the rocks or in the muddy areas of Weston bay, don’t put yourself into a position where you could become stuck.

"The water is unforgiving, it doesn’t give you a second chance whereas a game will."