Sunseeker who went sailing in a rubber dinghy is saved in dramatic rescue after winds blew him a MILE out to sea on the hottest day of the year… as forecasters say warm weather is set to stay

By Chris Parsons

Published: 06:49 EST, 23 May 2012 | Updated: 07:41 EST, 23 May 2012

As Britain basked in glorious temperatures and widespread sunshine yesterday, it is not surprising tens of thousands headed straight for the beach or the barbecue.

But while the vast majority exercised restraint and responsibility, there are always a small minority who get carried away when summery temperatures arrive.

That was quite literally the case for one beach goer at Slapton Sands in South Devon, who tried to take advantage of the warm weather, but ended up being blown over a mile out to sea in a rubber inflatable dinghy.

The 20-year-old man faced a somewhat embarrassing return to shore when Lifeboat teams eventually went out to rescue him on Tuesday afternoon.

All at sea: The lone sailor makes a futile attempt to paddle back towards shore after being blown a mile off the South Devon coast

Learned the hard way: The 20-year-old man, pictured in yellow and white stripes, leaves a rescue boat sheepishly after his dinghy was blown one mile out to sea

I won't be doing that again: The man had been in an inflatable dinghy on Slapton Sands in South Devon taking advantage of the sun when things took a turn for the worse

Shore won't be doing that again: RNLI crews haul in the seafarer after his extra-long trip off the South Devon coast

On their way: The man appears helplessly stranded in his small blue dingy as a rescue boat finally approaches yesterday afternoon

Rescue: The man's blue dinghy had to rescued by Lifeboat crews after being blown one mile out to sea during sunny spells yesterday

Red-faced:The sunseeker, who has not yet been identified, was dramatically rescued from his plight one mile out to sea after setting sail on the hottest day of the year

The man was returned to the sand wrapped in a sheet, along with his faithful blue rubber dinghy, having learnt a valuable lesson about seafaring in an inflatable boat.

The blissful temperatures in South Devon which saw the man's ill-advised boat trip were echoed nationwide, as thousands poured on to beaches, while others headed to parks and gardens to soak up the long-awaited sunshine.

In Lee-on-the-Solent in Hampshire, the mercury reached a high of 26c (79f) - hotter than Sicily.

It was a far cry from the chilly weekend, which followed the wettest April on record and one of the coldest starts to May in decades. Forecasters say the mercury could hit 27c (81f) in the South and South East today, and they expect the sunny conditions to stay for the next fortnight.

Perhaps no one enjoyed the scorching sunshine more than baby elephants Nayan, two, and Jamilah, 18 months, two of Chester Zoo's youngest residents.

The cheeky pair frolicked and screeched with joy as they squirted water all over their pen as their patient parents calmly looked on.

A high like yesterday's has not been seen for almost two months, with the south coast outshining the peak temperature of 23.6C enjoyed in Aboyne, Aberdeenshire, on March 27.

Those able to make the most of the midweek sunny spell rushed to the country's parks and coasts.

Making a splash: Three young girls dash across the beach in Poole, Dorset, yesterday, as Britons continued to make the most of favourable weather

Shady customer: A man rests under a tree outside the Houses of Parliament in central London, where forecasters predicted temperatures of 27C

In Bournemouth, Dorset, students skipped classes and workers called in sick in order to take advantage of the summer's arrival. The seven miles of sand were busy and there were plenty of bathers in the water that is still a cool 11C.

Beach huts across the nation were opened up and deck chairs and sunloungers were gleefully brought out of storage.

Ice cream salesmen who have been washed out for weeks enjoyed a busy day and seafront traders were delighted.

It follows weeks of weather so wet that officials have had to coin a new name for the strange situation whereby Britain found itself hit simultaneously by both floods and hosepipe bans.

Environmental Stress due to Rainfall Deficit, or ‘ESRD’ for short, is the term being employed by the Environment Agency. The agency admits it is not exactly catchy but believes it best describes the situation in the 19 counties no longer in drought.

And this is only the start of it. They plan to create ‘more sophisticated terminology’ to describe an array of dry conditions, and address concerns that the term drought is too ‘blunt’.

The aim is to prevent a repeat of the situation this year where people were told that their areas were officially in drought despite the fact their homes were being flooded.

In future, dry conditions could be divided into a number of sub-categories to describe the level of water shortage and who is affected.

The drought was rained off for much of the South West and the Midlands ten days ago after more than double the average rainfall last month.

It is still in force in the east of England, where hosepipes are banned.

Heavy downpours saw 150 properties flooded, 75 flood warnings issued and more than 10,000 phone calls to a flood helpline.

Bright mind: Medical student Lisa Rennie, 23, takes a break from studying for exams in Westburn Park, Aberdeen, with forecasters predicting temperatures in Scotland could reach 25 degrees throughout the week

Fun in the sun: (left to right) Elan Leyne, 16, Roy McBain, 16, Keith Wagon, 16, Harrison Rockensuss, 16, and Toby Williams, 16, from Portsmouth were cooling off in the cold seawater during the unusually hot sunny day at Portsmouth Beach

Thankfully, however, following the wettest April on record it is now looking likely that people can break out the barbecues and beach-gear.

And just as the country prepares for a heatwave, water companies have signalled the beginning of the end for the hosepipe ban, with restrictions relaxed for gardening companies.

Speaking about the new ‘ESRD’ term, Trevor Bishop, the Environment Agency’s head of water resources, said: ‘People think of drought and they think of television programmes of Ethiopia, and we are not in that situation.’ Normally, he explained, the weather gets hotter and drier in the spring and summer.

‘But this year it got colder and wetter. People were finding themselves in areas categorised as in drought but actually were being flooded,’ he said.

The intense rainfall in spring has not solved the drought, he went on, adding: ‘We wanted to create a new terminology which represented this.’

The new terms will involve ‘gradations in the way we describe the water resources situation’. ‘That may or may not involve the term drought. It almost certainly will in some situations,’ Mr Bishop added.

Mr Bishop said water firms were ‘reasonably certain’ there would be no need for further water restrictions in a normal summer, but a heatwave could push supplies to ‘critical points’.

While it is unclear what the new terms will be, Dr David Boorman, of the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, said experts already refer to meterological, hydrological, agricultural and economic drought, depending on whether the environment, farmers, homes or businesses are hit.

Today's weather: Most of the UK will remain sunny and warm today, though coastal parts will see some cloud. It will stay warmer than usual, though an easterly wind will cool things down towards the weekend

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