...

OK, I don't mean to harp on about this, but it shocked me somewhat, and I feel compelled to conclude by adding this (and there's no humour I'm afraid, purely reportage):

I've been chatting to one of the members of the Whitby Lifeboat crew and he told me that the kids they picked up on the inflatables were fifteen years old and from Yarm. They were hypothermic and very distressed and the crew guessed they'd have been very close to drowning. Both had taken in water but one of them was in a more serious condition than the other. They were taken to hospital to rule out the chance of secondary drowning but were later given the all-clear and released.

Scary stuff. However, possibly the most unacceptable aspect of this story, is the fact that they were sold the inflatables that morning at a shop on the seafront – the exact same morning the seafront that was being lashed by 20-25mph offshore winds. It doesn't get much more irresponsible than that if you ask me. So get with it you greedy, shop-faced bastards!