Falmouth's RNLI volunteers had a busy weekend with five shouts for the inshore lifeboat on Friday and Saturday.

The crew had the first of three incidents on Saturday afternoon when, en route to the Port Navas regatta at around 1.30pm, the crew became aware of a 5.5 metre speed boat with two people on board which appeared to have broken down off Falmouth Docks.

The boat's occupants confirmed that they were unable to start their engine so a tow line was passed to them and they were towed to the Falmouth Haven, before the lifeboat continued on to Port Navas.

The crew was returning from the Helford at 4.45pm when Falmouth Coastguard called for help for a small motor boat with two people on board which was reported to be broken down off Pendennis Point, and they passed the vessel a tow line before returning it to Mylor Yacht Harbour.

Both rescued crews were reported to be grateful for the assistance they received.

Having just returned from the previous shout, the lifeboat was called out again at around 5.45pm to reports of a boat taking on water between Greenbank Quay and Coastlines Wharf, but the crew quickly established that the yacht was unmanned and appeared to have been taking on water over a long period.

At lunchtime on Sunday the volunteers, along with Falmouth Cliff Rescue Team, were out again following reports of a yacht capsized near Greenbank Quay.

The crew was called a little before 1pm, and requested to proceed to the Prince of Wales Pier to commence a shoreline search for any person in the water, but shortly afterwards the coastguard mobile arrived at Greenbank Quay and advised that the capsized yacht was in fact between Greenbank Quay and Coastlines Wharf.

The lifeboat headed up the Penryn River and quickly confirmed that the yacht was on a mooring and was unoccupied.

A coastguard spokesperson said: "The yacht involved in this incident was the same one which had been reported taking water the previous day for which the Inshore Lifeboat had been launched to investigate."

The final incident of the weekend came just after 4.30pm on Sunday, when Falmouth Coastguard called for the inshore lifeboat to help the 8.5 metre yacht Wahoo which had reported fouling its propeller and being stuck on a fishing pot marker 1.5 miles south west of Pendennis Point.

The crew used a weighted line hauled under the yacht keel the crew were able to recover the pot line so it could be freed and the yacht was escorted back into Falmouth harbour.