A LIFEBOAT arrived in time to save four people whose boat was sinking off Lulworth.

Four people on the dive RIB Serenity encountered problems on the Lulworth Banks yesterday – warning coastguards they only had about 30 minutes before they sank.

As coastguards jumped into action yesterday, the people on Serenity desperately started bailing water out of their craft.

There were no divers in the water at the time.

A Portland Coastguard spokesman said: “Weymouth all-weather lifeboat had already launched as it was due to attend a demonstration in the Lyme Bay area.

“It was diverted to Lulworth where it picked up the four people on Serenity and managed to salvage the craft.

“The lifeboat towed it back towards Weymouth where the inshore lifeboat took over the tow.”

The rescue comes in the middle of the Dorset Echo Save Our Lifesavers campaign, which aims to convince the government and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to site a new coastguard supercentre in the borough of Weymouth and Portland.

It has been a busy few days for coastguards. On Friday, the search and rescue helicopter was scrambled to Purbeck where a baby had fallen in a stream.

A Portland Coastguard spokesman said paramedics called them asking for help after the six-month old baby had somehow fallen into a stream at a campsite on Studland Heath.

Swanage Coastguard Rescue Officers also went to the scene and as the helicopter Rescue 106 arrived the crew was informed by paramedics that they were no longer required but then a report came in of an injured 11-year-old cyclist nearby.

The spokesman said the cyclist fell off his mountain bike and suffered a suspected spinal injury and was flown with his dad to the Poole helicopter landing site at Whitecliff Park to be taken by ambulance to the town's hospital.