DEATH-DEFYING rescues in stormy seas, cliff-top airlifts in gale-force winds and hunting for walkers stranded by high tides is all in a day's work for the RAF Search and Rescue team.

We've all seen their bright yellow helicopter slicing through the skies above Scarborough and we were lucky enough to join the 'Sea King' heroes and experience a real-life emergency for ourselves.

The search and rescue helicopter crews train up to a maximum of four hours each day when not responding to emergency calls so we joined them on one such exercise over the North Sea.

After taking off from Leconfield, pilot Chris Mace guided us out to sea and headed towards a passing ship before requesting the captain's permission to use his deck as a landing space for a winching exercise.

The only difference about this manoeuvre was that instead of welcoming an expert RAF crew member on board, the unfortunate vessel was the landing ground for myself and photographer Paul Atkinson.

Winching is one of the most common rescue procedures completed by the Sea King crew and watching how smoothly they operate almost convinces you that it's easy.

Radar operator Donal McGuirk relays precise information to the pilots Chris Mace and Rebecca Angel, while winchman Paul "Harry" Harrison, who lives in Scarborough, prepares the harness and carefully assesses the landing surface.

As we descend closer to the ship I notice all the steel masts, ariels and rigging that seem to be lying in wait to entangle anybody crazy enough to lowered on to the deck from a helicopter hovering 70ft above.

My fear only heightens as the safe, straitjacket like harness I was expecting appears to be little more than a thin wire loop which hooks underneath my armpits.

"Just don't lift your arms up and you'll be alright," grins Donal as he launches me out of the open door and into the abyss. As I float through the open space between the helicopter and the boat, a strange sense of calm engulfs me: I can swim after all, I'm wearing an RAF issue life jacket and dry-suit and I even have the Sea King hovering above me if something does go horribly wrong.

Once I touch the deck I'm completely exhilarated and I am even offered a chilled blackcurrant juice from the ship's cook who assumes I'm a brave RAF pilot. Mission complete and it's back on to the helicopter for the next exercise, until disaster strikes.

The crew talk hurriedly to each other through the intercom and through all the technical jargon I pick up three words very clearly: "problem" and "emergency landing". Oh dear. The reassuring voice of the experienced captain comes over the radio and explains to Paul and I the operating computer has detected a problem with the craft's gearbox.

Chris finishes with the words "This is for real," just in case we assumed it was all jolly lark I suppose. We race back to shore and over the clifftops before landing in a cloud of smoke at Bridlington coastguard station – attracting quite a crowd of onlookers.

The engineers are called from Leconfield and after a couple of hours the helicopter is given the all-clear. We head straight back to base and within 10 minutes are back at RAF Leconfield sipping a cup of tea and being given a guided tour of the impressive new hangar. After witnessing first-hand the supreme skill of the Sea King crew it is impossible not to admire them completely. They risk their lives for others on a daily basis with an understated professionalism and calmness that only comes through years of training and dedication. And as one of the bystanders to our emergency landing commented: "They're worth their weight in gold, them people." I have to say, I couldn't agree more.

Always on call

THE Search and Rescue team based at Leconfield's Normandy Barracks, near Beverley, are on-call 24 hours day, 365 days a year, to respond to calls throughout England.

There are two Sea King helicopters at the base, one which must be in the air within 15 minutes of receiving an emergency call and the other which remains on standby. The crew responds to calls from the Aeronautical Rescue Co-ordination Centre at RAF Kinloss, Scotland, which handles the initial incoming calls from the emergency services.

The ARCC is responsible for deploying all RAF Royal Navy and Search and Rescue helicopters within a one million square mile radius – covering the whole of the UK and half way across the North Atlantic. Last year the RAF Leconfield crew completed an exhausting 230 rescues – the most since records began at the base in 1969.

This unusually high number was partly due to flooding throughout Yorkshire which saw both helicopters in operation for 24 hours at a time, only returning to base to refuel. Each Sea King has a minimum of four crew-members – the pilot, co-pilot, winchman and radar operator – each of whom are highly skilled in their specialised role.

The crew trains on a daily basis to ensure their life-saving skills never get rusty, but are restricted to no longer than four hours flighttime each day to make sure they are not too fatigued to deal with the real emergencies.

Sea King helicopters operated by the search and rescue teams are manufactured in the UK and have served the RAF for more than 25 years. Although their function is as rescue helicopters, they can be equipped with torpedoes and anti-ship missiles and there is an armed fleet serving in Afghanistan.

The Sea King crew which serves our coastline has also carried out missions as far south as Peterborough, as north as Newcastle and even across to Cumbria.

There are four other Sea Kings available for search and rescue missions in the north: two based at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland and two in RAF Boulmer, Northumberland.