A DAD and his teenage daughter were saved from drowning half a mile off Bournemouth pier, after becoming separated from their inflatable dinghy as night approached.

They had been in the water for 40 minutes by the time rescuers were able to get to them, around 10pm on Sunday.

Poole RNLI volunteer helm Dave Riley said the pair were "extremely lucky" and that given another ten minutes "it could have been a very different outcome."

After the police helicopter located them, two 'floating on devices' were dropped, which one of them managed to grab onto.

They were plucked to safety by the lifeboat crew and taken to shore to an awaiting ambulance.

Mr Riley stressed: "Although the weather has been hot, the sea temperatures are still cold enough to cause hypothermia when submersed for 40 minutes as they both were."

This rescue, which took place as light was fading, was just one in a string involving Poole RNLI lifeboat volunteers over the weekend – and a common theme appeared to be inflatables.

Earlier that evening the Poole lifeboat crew were called to help a seven-year-old girl who was drifting out to sea on an inflatable 'lollipop'. Within minutes of that they were tasked to assist an eleven-year-old boy, heading out to sea past the pier, in an inflatable dinghy.

Before this, around 7pm, the lifeboat was launched to reports of a dinghy with four people on board, drifting out to sea off Bournemouth pier. As news came in that dinghy had managed to get back to shore, UK Coastguard asked the RNLI volunteers to help another inflatable, this time a 'pink flamingo', which was also drifting out to sea with two people on board.

Poole RNLI helm Alex Evans said: "Thanks to the vigilance of the people on the pier, the children on the inflatables were spotted.

"People don’t realise that an offshore wind is potentially very dangerous.

"It may seem lovely down on the beach and calm but as you get further from the shore the wind will increase progressively.

"Then when you try to make your way back against the wind it can be very difficult, you get tired and the wind may capsize your dinghy and you then have the struggle righting your dinghy or keeping hold of your inflatable, and all the time you could be blown further offshore into even stronger winds.

"Thankfully the children got back safely to dry land. However, it could have been a very different story. Inflatables are designed for pools and not the sea where they can easily be swept out, if you still want to use them, then we would recommend wearing a suitable lifejacket or buoyancy aid."

Meanwhile, speaking after the father and daughter were rescued, Mr Riley said: "Today has seen Poole Lifeboat volunteers launch to an unprecedented number of inflatables and blow up dinghies, our advice is to leave them at home and do not use them on the beaches.

"We wish the two people well and a speedy recovery."