Nine years to the day after first receiving his crew pager, RNLI Penarth volunteer James King attended his first service calls as helm of Penarth's D-class lifeboat, responding to two callouts and coming to the aid of seven people during a busy Sunday for the crew.

Lifeboat helms are senior members of the crew who take command of the lifeboat while afloat during a rescue or exercise. They are responsible for the safety of all on board the lifeboat and for executing safe and effective rescue operations. Rigorous training and assessments are required before a crew member can qualify as a lifeboat helm.

James has been a crew member at Penarth for several years before taking on the role of helm. Volunteering as lifeboat crew and attending medical emergencies even inspired a career change for James in his day job, and he has now been a member of the ambulance service for seven years.

The first callout of the day came at 11am as the crew received reports of a fishing boat which had become grounded on a sandbank in the channel.

Penarth's D-class lifeboat launched, and the crew checked the safety of the four people on board the fishing vessel. The lifeboat brought an adult and a child back to the lifeboat station while the remaining two people waited with their boat to refloat on the tide.

At 6.30pm the crew were called out again, tasked to assist three people cut off by the tide at Lavernock Point. Both of Penarth's lifeboats launched, along with Penarth Coastguard Rescue Team, and found the three people on a small patch of dry land beneath the cliff as the tide came in around them.

The three people were brought safely back to the lifeboat station on the D-class lifeboat.

James King said: "Having gained experience over the years as a member of the volunteer crew, I am delighted to be the newest helm at RNLI Penarth and look forward to joining the complement of other helm crew members.

"It was great to put all the training into practice and achieve a good outcome from both callouts, ensuring all the casualties were safe and well."

Jason Dunlop, lifeboat operations manager at RNLI Penarth Lifeboat Station, said: "We would like to congratulate James on becoming our newest D-class helm.

"The journey to becoming helm requires a lot of training and dedication, and James will be a great asset to the station, further enhancing our ability to respond to the call to save lives."