A Pembrokeshire lifeboat coxswain, on relief duty in Scotland, was in command of one of the two RNLI lifeboats which went to the aid of a ditched helicopter in the North Sea last week.

Angle Coxswain Andy Elliot was at the helm of the Peterhead all-weather lifeboat, which was launched just before 12.30 pm after reports that a helicopter, with 12 passengers and two crew members, had ditched 25 miles east of Aberdeen.

When Peterhead and Aberdeen lifeboats reached the scene they found survivors on a liferaft. These were picked up by the Aberdeen lifeboat and taken to Aberdeen harbour, where medical teams were waiting. Other survivors were flown to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary by a rescue helicopter.

Peterhead lifeboat, which was at sea for 10 hours, remained on the scene in an attempt to help the vessel Seven Pelican bring the ditched helicopter back to land. However, the attempt was aborted that evening due to bad weather.

Andy is no stranger to Peterhead lifeboat station. He was full-time mechanic there until September 2010, when he moved to Pembrokeshire to take over the helm of Angle's Tamar class all-weather lifeboat Mark Mason.

He joined the RNLI nine years ago as a volunteer crew member at Peterhead and was appointed full-time mechanic there in 2006.

Originally from Elgin in Scotland, he is a former soldier - serving in the Royal Corps of Transport - and, after leaving the Army, spent time as a lorry driver before joining the Prison Service at Peterhead. In his spare time, he is a keen fly fisherman.

Peterhead has the distinction of having been allocated the first operational Tamar class lifeboat in Scotland and the second in the UK - the first went to Tenby.