Air Sea Rescue Land's End

It was one of the biggest events in the South West Calender which saw thousands gather in Cornwall yesterday afternoon.... 

Heart took a starring role in the Air Sea Rescue day at Lands End and Heart's Karly Wilson - who you can follow on Twitter, @Heart_Karly - was invited on board the RNLI life boat

The annual event sets out to highlight the organisations that run rescue operations off the county's coast 

We launched off Sennen Cove - to give the thousands of spectators a unique opportunity to witness just how air and sea crew carry out their work

LISTEN HERE: Heart Karly on-board the Sennen Cove lifeboat

It was a dry and sunny day with perfect conditions to carry out a practice rescue - but that's not always the case for members of the Royal Navy based at RNAS Culdrose and RNLI

During my afternoon out with them I saw two voluntary crew members dropped in to the sea who then set off a flare before being picked up by helicopter. 

The experience lasted no more than 25 minutes in total - but in a joined up effort between air and sea crew - the two casualties were only in the water for just a matter of minutes... Something which saves the lives of many up and down the Cornish coastline every year.

I was on a boat worth almost 3 million pounds, paid for by raising money for their charity on days just like this - more than a dozen life boat crew members took part in the exercise, all offering their time for free. Many of them hold down jobs and are ready to respond to a shout within minutes 

The Royal Navy landed one of their helicopters at Land's End and opened it up to visitors to climb inside a harrier jump jet cockpit and see its survival equipment close up - the only chance for people to do so this year! 

The organisations that took part in the day included RNAS Culdrose, the RNLI, Sennen Cove Coastguard and Coast Watch