The St Catherine's inshore lifeboat crew were paged at 1.13am this morning to evacuate a family of four from the Ecrehous. The family were staying overnight in a hut on the offshore reef, which is 7 miles to the north east of Jersey, when a gas alarm activated alerting them to unsafe levels of CO2. The family were able to safely exit the hut but, unsurprisingly, were reluctant to stay there for the rest of the night.

The crew made their way to the Ecrehous in good conditions, although with the cloud cover there was very little natural light. The family were brought on board the Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat and the crew and casualties returned safely to Jersey in the early hours.

Whilst this was not a typical shout, the rescue serves as a reminder to all boat and home users of the importance of smoke and gas alarms, particularly when staying overnight.