Mayor presents cheque to brave lifeboat staff

The donation was to pay tribute to, and thank staff at the station for their quick thinking and brave actions in rescuing two young Limavady boys, Reece Sufferin and Matthew Forsythe, who got trapped in caves for over five hours last year. Anthony Chambers, mechanic and crew member at Portrush Lifeboat Station was even awarded the Royal National Lifeboat Institution's (RNLI) Bronze Medal for Gallantry for rescuing the boys who found themselves trapped by the rising tide in a cliff cave near Castlerock Strand on 5 August 2009. The Coastguard tasked land, sea and air rescue teams as soon as the alarm was raised by worried parents, and the RNLI charity's all-weather and inshore lifeboats at Portrush launched to help with the search operation.

The boys' location in the cave was discovered by a Coastguard cliff rescue volunteer, however the sea conditions and rising tide made all attempts to reach the boys futile – including two initial attempts by the inshore lifeboat to get close to the cave entrance

Mr Chambers volunteered to enter the water and swim into the cave as he believed he could reach the boys, who were trapped right at the back of the cave chest-deep in water. After Anthony prepared himself for the rescue and the crew of inshore lifeboat got him as close as possible, he entered the surging water.

Fighting against the elements in almost total darkness, he was smashed against the cave wall before reaching the boys for the first time. Rescuing them one at a time, it took Anthony 30 minutes to complete the difficult and treacherous return-swim twice with the rising tide against him. The all-weather lifeboat crew helped with the search and then carried out first aid and prepared the two boys to be airlifted into the rescue helicopter for rapid transfer to hospital. Mayor Cathal hOisn personally praised the actions of the Lifeboat station. He said: "I am absolutely delighted to come here today and personally present a donation to such a worthy cause. The selfless actions of these men that day can not be overestimated as without them the consequences would have been incomprehensible. As a long time boat enthusiast, I have always appreciated and took comfort in the knowledge that each time you go to sea the RNLI are never too far away and are always ready to help."

Anthony Chambers will officially be presented with his medal at a ceremony in London at the end of the month. He will be joined on the trip by other representatives from the Portrush Lifeboat Station.

Reece Sufferin was also recently presented with a Commendation Award from the Boys Brigade for his selfless bravery during the incident when he insisted his friend Matthew be rescued from the cave first.