A woman in her 30s has been rescued from the sea near Worthing Pier after drifting in freezing conditions on Saturday, 3 January, in what became Shoreham RNLI’s first service of 2026.
Emergency services were mobilised at 1:03pm, including the Shoreham RNLI Inshore Lifeboat, Coastguard Rescue Helicopter 365 from Solent, local Coastguard teams, Sussex Police, and South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb).
The RNLI crew located the woman, who had drifted west of the pier, and pulled her from the water into the lifeboat. She was then taken straight to the beach where paramedics and other emergency teams were waiting. She has since been taken to hospital for precautionary checks.
Adam Cairns, inshore lifeboat helm, described the conditions:
“Although the sea conditions were calm and we had good visibility, the northerly wind meant air temperatures were near freezing, combined with the low sea temperature. With the amount of time the casualty had spent in the water, they were very cold. With some excellent inter-agency working with our partners from Sussex Police, local coastguard rescue teams and SECAmb, we were able to quickly locate the casualty once on scene, protect them from deteriorating further and transfer them to clinical care with the support of the teams on the beach.”
Sussex Police confirmed the woman’s rescue and praised the quick, coordinated response between all agencies.
The RNLI reminded the public: if you see someone in difficulty in the water, always phone 999 and ask for the coastguard.
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