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Hastings RNLI lifeboat crew 'blocked from going out to sea' by people angry at them rescuing refugee
https://www.hastingsobserver.co.uk/news/people/hastings-rnli-lifeboat-crew-blocked-from-going-out-to-sea-by-people-angry-at-them-rescuing-refugees-3475179Hastings RNLI lifeboat crew ‘blocked from going out to sea’ by people angry at them rescuing refugees
The RNLI has confirmed an incident took place following claims Hastings RNLI lifeboat crew were blocked from going out to sea by people angry at them for rescuing refugees in the Channel.
By Alex Watts
Tuesday, 30th November 2021, 2:23 pm
A group of people on Hastings beach reportedly shouted “horrible” abuse at the RNLI volunteer crew, according to a caller to James O’Brien’s LBC radio show on Thursday (November 25). Zoe, from Hastings, told the presenter she witnessed the group blocking the RNLI lifeboat and shouting, “don’t bring any more of those home, we’re full up, that’s why we stopped our donations, and that kind of really horrible stuff.” She added: “It was really upsetting, and you could hear the hatred in their voice.”
Zoe said she was on the beach, near the harbour arm, with her boyfriend on Saturday November 20, when they “heard the lifeboat station opening up and thought ‘oh they have a call’ and started watching.” She said as the “lifeboat crew pulled the boat out and were going to go into the water”, a group of people “stood directly in the line of the boat so the boat couldn’t be put in the water.”
“Are you sure?” O’Brien asked her.
“I’m absolutely sure, the police were called,” she replied. “It really shook me to the core and we thought of it yesterday night when we saw the news that people had passed away again.” (A reference to the 27 people who drowned crossing the Channel on November 24. They included seven women - one of whom was pregnant - and three children.)
[...]
The RNLI has confirmed an incident took place following claims Hastings RNLI lifeboat crew were blocked from going out to sea by people angry at them for rescuing refugees in the Channel.
By Alex Watts
Tuesday, 30th November 2021, 2:23 pm
A group of people on Hastings beach reportedly shouted “horrible” abuse at the RNLI volunteer crew, according to a caller to James O’Brien’s LBC radio show on Thursday (November 25). Zoe, from Hastings, told the presenter she witnessed the group blocking the RNLI lifeboat and shouting, “don’t bring any more of those home, we’re full up, that’s why we stopped our donations, and that kind of really horrible stuff.” She added: “It was really upsetting, and you could hear the hatred in their voice.”
Zoe said she was on the beach, near the harbour arm, with her boyfriend on Saturday November 20, when they “heard the lifeboat station opening up and thought ‘oh they have a call’ and started watching.” She said as the “lifeboat crew pulled the boat out and were going to go into the water”, a group of people “stood directly in the line of the boat so the boat couldn’t be put in the water.”
“Are you sure?” O’Brien asked her.
“I’m absolutely sure, the police were called,” she replied. “It really shook me to the core and we thought of it yesterday night when we saw the news that people had passed away again.” (A reference to the 27 people who drowned crossing the Channel on November 24. They included seven women - one of whom was pregnant - and three children.)
[...]
=======================================
Update
https://www.hastingsobserver.co.uk/news/people/hastings-fishermen-explain-circumstances-over-rnli-lifeboat-blocking-3476922
Hastings fishermen explain circumstances over RNLI lifeboat ‘blocking’
Hastings fishermen have denied any involvement with abuse reportedly shouted at Hastings RNLI lifeboat crew by people angry at them for rescuing refugees in the Channel.
By Alex Watts
Tuesday, 30th November 2021, 2:14 pm
Police confirmed a “disturbance” took place following claims the lifeboat was blocked from going out to sea by people on Hastings beach, near the harbour arm.
People reportedly shouted “horrible” abuse at the RNLI volunteer crew, according to a caller to James O’Brien’s LBC radio show on Thursday (November 25). Zoe, from Hastings, told the presenter she witnessed the group blocking the RNLI lifeboat and shouting, “don’t bring any more of those home, we’re full up, that’s why we stopped our donations, and that kind of really horrible stuff.”
Paul Joy, chairman of the Hastings Fishermen’s Protection Society, said the abuse had nothing to do with Hastings fishermen. He said the lifeboat decided to launch on the east side of the harbour arm - rather than the west side where it normally launches - and found a fishing boat was already there. This escalated into a “row”, but he said this had nothing to do with refugees being rescued in the Channel - it was the way the lifeboat crew spoke to the fisherman involved. He said there was a lorry driver on the beach who “had words about immigrants” to the lifeboat crew, but nothing was said about refugees by the fisherman.
“The lifeboat was going out and the fisherman was carrying his fish down behind the boat. The lifeboat was launching from the east side of the harbour, and the fisherman’s boat was on the east side of the harbour and he was already there,” Mr Joy said. “The fisherman concerned was carrying his fish down to throw back in the sea - the small, undersized stuff which you should do, and the lifeboat man shouted out, screamed at him, ‘get out the way’, and he said, ‘who are you talking to?’ and that erupted into a row. But he was on his own, and the person who was having a go was a lorry driver.”
[...]
Hastings fishermen have denied any involvement with abuse reportedly shouted at Hastings RNLI lifeboat crew by people angry at them for rescuing refugees in the Channel.
By Alex Watts
Tuesday, 30th November 2021, 2:14 pm
Police confirmed a “disturbance” took place following claims the lifeboat was blocked from going out to sea by people on Hastings beach, near the harbour arm.
People reportedly shouted “horrible” abuse at the RNLI volunteer crew, according to a caller to James O’Brien’s LBC radio show on Thursday (November 25). Zoe, from Hastings, told the presenter she witnessed the group blocking the RNLI lifeboat and shouting, “don’t bring any more of those home, we’re full up, that’s why we stopped our donations, and that kind of really horrible stuff.”
Paul Joy, chairman of the Hastings Fishermen’s Protection Society, said the abuse had nothing to do with Hastings fishermen. He said the lifeboat decided to launch on the east side of the harbour arm - rather than the west side where it normally launches - and found a fishing boat was already there. This escalated into a “row”, but he said this had nothing to do with refugees being rescued in the Channel - it was the way the lifeboat crew spoke to the fisherman involved. He said there was a lorry driver on the beach who “had words about immigrants” to the lifeboat crew, but nothing was said about refugees by the fisherman.
“The lifeboat was going out and the fisherman was carrying his fish down behind the boat. The lifeboat was launching from the east side of the harbour, and the fisherman’s boat was on the east side of the harbour and he was already there,” Mr Joy said. “The fisherman concerned was carrying his fish down to throw back in the sea - the small, undersized stuff which you should do, and the lifeboat man shouted out, screamed at him, ‘get out the way’, and he said, ‘who are you talking to?’ and that erupted into a row. But he was on his own, and the person who was having a go was a lorry driver.”
[...]
2 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
Last edited Tue Nov 30, 2021, 12:14 PM - Edit history (1)
Link to tweet
PoliticsJOE
@PoliticsJOE_UK
NEW: A man blocked a lifeboat being launched in Hastings, shouting that he had stopped his donations to the RNLI because they rescue refugees.
[Twitter video]
@PoliticsJOE_UK
NEW: A man blocked a lifeboat being launched in Hastings, shouting that he had stopped his donations to the RNLI because they rescue refugees.
[Twitter video]
There have been contradictory versions of what happened, but he seems to have been a lorry driver, not a fisherman, though an individual fishing boat's crew may have been involved, according to one eyewitness report:
Link to tweet
Nick Limpkin 💙
@KavyMan1984
This was the Hastings lifeboat on Saturday 20/11/2021 this charming fisherman was yelling at the lifeboat crew about how he cancelled his donations over them rescuing refugees. I am pretty sure they were also deliberately trying to stop them from launching. I have the video @RNLI
Nick Limpkin 💙
@KavyMan1984
The fishing boat in question...
Link to tweet
Nick Limpkin 💙
@KavyMan1984
Others on the boat seemed to deliberately empty fish waste right in the path of the lifeboat so seagulls swarmed down, this guy was hassling the crew trying to launch. I have around 10 minutes of video.
@KavyMan1984
Others on the boat seemed to deliberately empty fish waste right in the path of the lifeboat so seagulls swarmed down, this guy was hassling the crew trying to launch. I have around 10 minutes of video.
Others in Hastings have been much more humane:
On Thursday evening, an estimated 250 people gathered on the Stade in Hastings Old Town to hold a moving vigil for the 27 people who died when their boat capsized.
Last week, businesses and local people were thanked for helping 93 people who arrived on Hastings beach after being rescued by lifeboats in the Channel.
One group - 35 men and five teenage boys - spent two days at sea in a small dinghy before they were picked up by Hastings RNLI inshore lifeboat on November 16. RNLI crew helped them on to the shore near the harbour arm in Hastings Old Town. They were met by police stationed on the beach and later handed over to Border Force officials. Volunteers from Hastings Supports Refugees handed out hot drinks, food, warm clothing and blankets to the group - from Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Palestine and various African countries.
On November 11, local businesses helped 53 people who arrived on Hastings beach after being rescued by lifeboats in the Channel. The group - including several children - were handed over to Border Force officials. In total, 1,185 people crossed the Channel by boat to reach the UK on November 11, a new record for migrant crossings in a single day.
https://www.hastingsobserver.co.uk/news/people/hastings-fishermen-explain-circumstances-over-rnli-lifeboat-blocking-3476922