..I don’t know if there is any truth in the story or not...
https://www.kentlive.news/news/uk-wo...-story-3206927
A viral story about parents sending the RNLI a bill for a popped £7 lilo is actually an anecdote from the 1980s.
Claims that a small girl was saved in a £7,000 helicopter rescue after drifting out to sea in Cornwall were widely circulated this afternoon (August 13).
However, a spokesman for the RNLI confirmed no incident of that kind has happened recently.
A spokesman said: "The story about parents sending the RNLI a bill for a £7 lilo is in fact an anecdote from an incident which happened back in the 1980s – it is not a recent incident.
"The anecdote was recounted in passing at an event in the south west at the weekend and has since been incorrectly reported as a recent occurrence.
"Additionally, rescue helicopters are provided by the Coastguard. The RNLI provides a lifeboat search and rescue service from 238 lifeboat stations around the UK and Ireland and lifeguards on over 240 beaches, but does not cover helicopter provision
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency have also commented on the story, saying they have no record of the incident.
The reports also claimed that the rescue was conducted by a helicopter called Coastguard 771, which does not exist.
A spokesman said: "We're aware that there is a story going around on social media today claiming that a family made a claim against a Coastguard helicopter base for the loss of an inflatable following an incident.
"We'd like to point out we've never had a helicopter known as Coastguard 771 & we have no record of anyone contacting any of our bases to claim any money for an inflatable lost at sea.
"We do however urge people not to use inflatable toys at the coast as they are not designed to be used in the sea and can actually be very dangerous to use them there."