CREW from the Sea King squadron involved in the dramatic Boscastle rescues arrived in the island yesterday. They flew in from RAF St Mawgan for the Battle of Britain Air Display, in which the helicopter will demonstrate some of its rescue capabilities.

But to them, it is just a normal job.

Mike Carnes was the winch operator for 203 Squadron’s second sortie into the region devastated by flash floods.

Earlier, fellow crew member Clive Chapman had been involved in the rescue of a baby from a car roof using a rucksack.

‘I was really quite amazed by the damage down on the ground,’ said Mr Carnes.

‘We landed in what was left of a car park. In the corner there were just six cars left – the rest was just a mess of upturned vehicles, ripped-up tarmac and debris.’

Before that, the helicopter had been searching the area with up to seven others as most people had been rescued from the houses.

‘We were awaiting instructions when the local coastguards called us in to land at the car park, where there was a woman and her two daughters who needed evacuating.’

The girls were about 12 and 13 and were suffering from hypothermia. They were taken to Bude but, because of the lack of ambulances, the crew then had to take them on to a hospital in north Devon.

‘Some jobs are very satisfying because you achieve a great deal.

‘Some are very difficult and some are very simple but make a lot of headlines and appear quite spectacular,’ he said.

‘There are very few dangerous tasks, but they are challenging.’

He has flown in Sea Kings for 25 years and likened his job to any other at which people are good.

Four people crew the Sea King: a pilot, a navigator, a winch operator and a winch man.

During rescues, the helicopter is normally at an altitude of only 50ft and the pilot is reliant on instructions shouted at him by the winch operator.

In the air display, the crew will perform tasks such as dropping someone off and picking them up from the lifeboat.

‘The Sea King is an all-weather helicopter and can perform rescues over sea in fog and at night,’ said Squadron Leader Dane Crosby.

‘We’re quite used to attracting the attention of the public but this is a chance to see us with our happy face on, nothing going wrong, and to pay something back to the public because they’re the people who fund us.’