Fearing the owners of the clothes could be lost at sea, the St Peter Port lifeboat, a French search and rescue helicopter, Guernsey’s marine ambulance, the Leopardess fisheries protection vessel, a Guernsey harbour boat and several private vessels spent hours scouring the water around Sark’s Creux Harbour.
Sark’s firefighters were also called into action and made full use of the station’s 12 pairs of binoculars.
But the search was called off when investigations led to three jet skiers who were safe and well at home in Guernsey. They admitted that two of them had dumped the clothes in Sark when they got wet.
Captain Peter Gill, lifeboat operations manager, said: ‘If people want to dump things they should be put in the bin.
‘I know that Guernsey Coastguard will be speaking to the individuals concerned.’
Describing the operation, he said: ‘Searching for what is principally a head in a rough sea can be like looking for a needle in haystack and, given the time involved, you don’t even know which field the haystack is in.
‘There were a few false sightings, one turned out to be a yellow plastic bag, but you will always get that.’
Twenty-five Sark firefighters and special constables also helped with the search.
Initially inquiries were made at various self-catering businesses before they focused on the cliffs between Little Sark and the island’s east coast.
Four pairs searched on the water, five people worked on command and control and the remainder searched from vantage points on the cliffs.
‘We know our island better than anywhere else.
‘We have 12 pairs of binoculars at the Fire Station especially for things like this,’ said Chief Fire Officer Kevin Adams.
Mass brawl at North Show
IT is a traditional country fair offering arts and crafts and showcasing Guernsey’s best livestock and most magnificent fruit and veg.
So organisers of the North Show were more than a little surprised when a 50-man brawl erupted just outside its gates.
Police were called out on Wednesday night after receiving reports of the mass fight and arrested three teenagers – two aged 15 and one aged 18.
Show committee member Ron Le Cheminant said that while the ‘odd skirmish’ had occurred in the past, he had never seen anything on this scale. ‘It was very violent – I saw it all,’ he said.
The brawl led to event organisers increasing security for the second day of the show.
‘If anyone comes looking for trouble, preparations are in place,’ said show president Gary Trimbee-Laine.
‘This is not something we want happening near the North Show,’ he added.
A Guernsey police spokesman confirmed that between 40 and 50 people were involved in the fight.
He added: ‘Additional officers were deployed to help manage the incident. Despite being significantly outnumbered, and dealing with a difficult situation, our officers managed the disturbance with professionalism and the group dispersed.’
