SHARPNESS lifeboat crew helped save the life of a porpoise yesterday, after it became stranded in shallow water.

The Severn Area Rescue Association (SARA) team was called out to assist the Chepstow Coastguard Rescue Team, following reports that a marine mammal had become beached near Lydney Harbour.

"We jointly got to the scene at around 11am," said Geoff Dawe, senior helmsman and lifeboat operations manager at Sharpness Lifeboat Station.

"By the time we got there, the tide was out, so we walked out the porpoise.

"There are quick sands there, which are very dangerous, and so one of the primary tasks was to keep the public away.

"The tide was due in at 3pm, so it was important to keep porpoise as comfortable as possible, which meant keeping it moist and its blow hole clear.

"We moved it to a channel of water alongside the sandbank it was beached on, to wait for the incoming tide, so it could return to deeper water."

Three marine mammal medics and a vet joined the crews, who all stayed with the porpoise for more than two hours, at which point it 'swam away strongly'.

"Sometimes porpoises will beach themselves if they're ill," added Mr Dawe.

"And you can refloat them, but then find them rebeached again.

"But so far there have been no further sightings, which is encouraging.

"It was a superb team effort by all."