The crew from Teddington lifeboat station rescued two adults and two children from a boat trapped at Teddington Weir.

The four, including youngsters aged 10 and 11, got stuck after fishing on the River Thames during high tide and had to call for help.

A three man crew – Helmsman Richard Hogg, Helmsman Andrew Butterfield and Crewman Angus Prentice – got the four off the boat and to safety, during the incident last month.

Mr Butterfield said: “This is a good example of how quickly a quiet afternoon can turn.

“The biggest threat would have been people trying to help the boat or the casualties trying to get out themselves and getting into danger.

“Thank goodness the lock keeper at Teddington made the emergency call and we were able to action a safe rescue.”

Teddington lifeboat station had a quieter summer than in 2009, new figures have revealed.

The RNLI released preliminary figures for lifeboat launches in June, July and August on the tidal River Thames and it revealed there were 17 call outs this year, compared to 18 last year.

Along the length of the river there were 329 launches, compared to 242 the previous summer, an increase of 36 per cent.