While most people were tucking in to day two of turkey and continuing the Christmas drinks, for the crew of Falmouth Lifeboat Boxing Day turned out a little differently.

Festive activities were halted briefly when crew members of the inshore lifeboat Eve Pank were paged to go to the assistance of a women who had fallen while walking on rocks at Carclase Point near St Just in Roseland.

The casualty had suffered a suspected broken leg and because of the location and difficulty of extracting her across rocks and the beach to an ambulance half a mile away, the paramedics and members of Portscatho Coastguard Cliff Rescue Team decided that the best course of action was to evacuate her by water.

The inshore lifeboat launched at 3.47pm with Neil Capper at helm and Elliott Holman and Tom Telford on board. They arrived on scene at 3.55pm and two crew members were placed ashore.

The woman was then transferred to the lifeboat on a stretcher and, accompanied by a paramedic, taken up the Carrick Roads to the King Harry Ferry slipway on the Roseland side where she was safely transferred to a waiting ambulance.

The ferry crossing was delayed until the emergency services were able to arrive with the patient.

Falmouth RNLI Helm Neil Capper said: ‘Luckily conditions were good and the water was very flat which helped the casualty, who must have been suffering a lot of discomfort because of the injury.

"Good team work between the paramedics, Coastguard Cliff Rescue Team and the lifeboat crew resulted in a smooth operation.

"This was also helped by the King Harry Ferry waiting until the casualty was in the ambulance and ready to be taken across the river and onward to hospital."

The inshore lifeboat returned to the station at 4.40pm where it was refuelled and ready for service by 5.15pm.