It's the most wonderful time of the year.

While most of us will enjoy a relaxed time with our families on Christmas Day, others will be sitting by their pager waiting for a possible call.

We speak to the Wyke Coastguard Rescue team about their role as an emergency responder over the festive season.

"We live life by the pager.”

They’re the words of Matt Denton, who has been a volunteer with Wyke Coastguard for four years.

The Wyke team of 12 volunteers are people from all walks of life who live locally. 

All team members, including the station officer, have normal day jobs. And yet for 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, the team are on call to help people in distress. 

That means that whilst we are sitting down to eat Christmas lunch, they could be getting up from the table to help someone in need.

Matt said: “It can be hard on families. I have a young son, we can be sat at home and then the pager goes off and I have to leave. 

“You could be at work, at home, with family, doing anything but if that pager goes off you have to go.”
Matt says the close-knit team at Wyke are always on hand to support each other. 

He added: “We come from a lot of different areas and we all have full time jobs. We are category 1 responders, so we are classed on the same level as fire and police. We are an emergency service which is manned day to day by volunteers.”

Their area runs from Abbotsbury beach car park to White Nothe and Wyke is part of a network of coastguard rescue teams along the Jurassic Coast. 

The other teams are Lyme Regis, West Bay, Portland Bill, Lulworth, Kimmeridge, St Aldhelm’s Head, Swanage and Poole.

The Wyke team is one of the busiest in the country and has already carried out 102 jobs this year. 

In summer, the team assisted Lulworth and Kimmeridge crews with a dramatic cliff rescue at Durdle Door in the Purbeck area, and also took part in a major search for a missing fisherman off Ringstead Bay. 

In July, the team was rocked by the loss of the Portland coastguard helicopter. 

After more than two decades of service, the search and rescue helicopter base ceased to be operational, with the nearest base now at Lee-on-Solent in Hampshire.

Mark Fagg, station officer at Wyke Coastguard, said: “With the loss of the helicopter we have carried out more jobs which involved preparing the landing base at the rugby ground for another coastguard helicopter.”

Sadly, while Christmas can be a time for family and friends, it can also be a very difficult time for a lot of people.

For some, as the festive period dawns it can fill them with feelings of anxiety or dread.

Matt said: “It’s a fantastic time for families but we have to consider there’s people who are not in the best place, and this time of year can exacerbate that. 

“Often during this time of year, we get a lot of missing person reports.”

As well as this, there is the danger of cold and sometimes unpleasant weather conditions during the winter months. 

Matt said that the increased risks around this time of year are the dropping sea temperatures, which can plummet to less than 10 degrees in cold weather, as well as the shorter days and longer nights. 

He said: “There is an increased chance that people could get lost, it can easily happen.”

On Christmas Day, some members of the team will have to say no to a festive drink and keep their pager close. 

Mark said: “There will be two people on the team on call right the way through the day, although quite a lot of our jobs require the rest of the team.

“There are people out there who would love to do what we do.

“ I think of myself as fortunate enough to be in a position where I can give my time to help others.”

Matt agreed, saying: “We do it because we love it and we all have the same motivation. It’s very rewarding.”

So as Christmas comes around, spare a thought for our emergency responders who are willing to give their personal time to help others, and possibly save lives. 

This festive season, people are urged to make sure their loved ones know where they are and what time they are expected home, and to prepare suitably for the weather conditions. 

Anyone that gets into trouble along the coast at this time of year should call 999 and ask for the coastguard.