Dart RNLI’s D class lifeboat has come to the rescue of stranded dolphin at Old Mill Creek.

Called in by the Coastguards, the Dart lifeboat launched at 5.30pm at low tide on January 26. A pod of dolphins had been staying around the entrance to the creek during the late afternoon, possibly because a dolphin was in trouble further inshore.

Having established that the swimmers were all out of the water and safe, the lifeboat crew discussed how to carry out the rescue.

A member of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue team was with the Coastguard onshore.

The dolphin was moved to deeper water in an ambulance pouch alongside the lifeboat

Members of the Dart lifeboat crew had previously worked with the rescue team when they helped to release a humpback whale that had become trapped on two occasions off Blackpool Sands in 2017.

The volunteer helm decided to use the ambulance pouch on the lifeboat to keep the dolphin alongside the boat but still in the water. The adult dolphin was slowly taken into deeper water and released in the middle of the river. It looked strong when released and swam off powerfully up the river.