Safely ashore with their speedboat are, left to right, Richard and Barry Turner, Sam Bubb and Ben Roland

Boat and inflatable users across the district have been warned to take more care after Whitstable lifeboat was launched several times this week to help people in trouble off the coast.

On Sunday afternoon, two girls, aged 14 and 15, were swept out to sea on inflatables and were rescued by the lifeboat.

They were using a dinghy and rubber ring and got into difficulties off Herne Bay as Force 5 winds took hold.

Lifeboat helmsman Dave Parry said inflatables should always be be attached to an anchor point such as a groyne.

The incident was one of a series involving inflatables, with two people taken ashore at Swalecliffe the same day after being blown out to sea and three people getting into difficulties off Tankerton last Thursday in an inflatable canoe.

On Monday, two teenagers were rescued at Reculver after getting into difficulties.

A girl aged 13 and a 14-year-old boy were paddling in canoes without life jackets and were swept out to sea by a strong tide at about 3.15pm.

The girl’s canoe capsized but the teenagers managed to get ashore near Reculver Towers by the time the lifeboat arrived.

And on Tuesday, four occupants of a speedboat were rescued by Whitstable lifeboat after their 15-foot craft sank off Herne Bay.

Barry Turner, 47, and his 16-year-old son, Richard, both from Herne, and two friends, Sam Bubb and Ben Roland, both 16, from Herne and Broomfield, had gone out for a water skiing trip when their speedboat began taking in water and within 10 minutes had sunk.

Jet skis picked up two of them before Whitstable lifeboat arrived. All four were wearing buoyancy aids. The lifeboat towed the speedboat to Neptune Jetty where it was brought ashore.