UK Edition
Bride-to-be who wanted 'no fuss' hen party rescued by RNLI after boat trip goes awry
When bride-to-be Amy Sanderson told her friends she wanted a "no fuss, low key" hen party, she probably did not expect the evening's entertainment to include a call to the emergency services.
But after taking a scenic boat trip up the River Dart, in Devon, before dinner in picturesque Dartmouth, Ms Sanderson and her three friends found themselves stranded on the thick mud of the riverbed.
Dart RNLI said yesterday that they had rescued the four women, whose boat had "gone aground on an ebbing tide", shortly before 7.30pm on Saturday.
Two firemen trained in mud rescue were despatched, along with two members of the coastguard's search and rescue team, with the team deploying mud mats to enable the women to be transferred to a lifeboat.
A spokesman for the lifeboat service said: "The party were cold but otherwise unhurt. They came back to the lifeboat station for a warm drink and to meet and thank the lifeboat crew.
"The girls were on a hen party and the irony is that the bride to be had requested a 'no fuss and low key day'.
"They thought an afternoon afloat on the beautiful River Dart would set the mood for dinner in Dartmouth in the evening.
" I don't think they will ever forget the hen party."
The other women were named on Facebook as Laura White, Ann Peters, and Natalie Pyne.
In a message to Ms Sanderson, an RNLI spokesman said: "Amy, all at Dart RNLI wish you a wonderful wedding day and don't forget to send us a snap."