AROUND 4,500 people joined in the unofficial Fort Walk this year.

Gavin Hackshaw, 49, of Ryde, was the first person to reach it. He said: "It is such a wonderful annual event, and it is lovely to see thousands of people enjoying it."

Three people were rescued by Bembridge's Norman Harvey Inshore Lifeboat when the crew spotted a father and his two teenage sons in 'considerable difficulty' after they unexpectedly fell into a deep hole in the middle of the channel while they were crossing from the St Helens side to the Bembridge side.

The crew was able to keep the casualties afloat while they got them on board the lifeboat, then later handed them over to the coastguard team and an ambulance, as they had all swallowed large amounts of sea water.

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