FOR rookie lifeboat woman Nicola White, her first 'shout' was a real baptism of fire.

The Teignmouth lifeboat The Two Annes was launched into ferocious seas to search for two swimmers, missing off the main beach.

The father and son holidaymakers found themselves being swept away in the treacherous conditions on a busy summer afternoon in July. The 15-year-old lad managed to reach the beach exhausted, but his dad was not so fortunate, and was hauled out of the sea in a bad way by the lifeboat crew.

They brought him ashore, but despite non-stop resuscitation, he sadly died.

Nicola and the rest of the crew and station personnel were honoured with awards during a ceremony at Teignmouth golf Club on Thursday evening.

"I did not know what to expect on my first call-out, and this one was very demanding. The sea was appalling, and we were all very upset that we could not save the man, but it is all part of the job," said Nicola, whose 'day time' job is a planner.

The deputy divisional RNLI officer, Nigel Jones, presented Nicola, and the three other crew members, Humphrey Vince, Adam Truhol and Charlie Woolnough, with framed of thanks letters signed by the chairman and chief executive, and the Teignmouth launch operations manager, Mike Schooling, received a similar award on behalf of the other station volunteers, and pointed out that although the incident ended in tragedy, they had saved four other people over the year.

The awards recognised the teamwork, professionalism and efforts by all at the Teignmouth station, and highlighted that everybody acted in the finest traditions of the RNLI 'and could not have done more.'