Two rescued from base of cliffs

The couple dialled 999 at around 3.30pm when they found themselves trapped while walking from Skinningrove towards Saltburn.

UK Coastguard dispatched the two RNLI lifeboats from Redcar. On arrival, the station’s smaller inshore lifeboat was manoeuvred through difficult seas to reach the couple. The man, aged 61-years-old, was taken on board the lifeboat and landed near the Ship Inn, Saltburn, where he was assessed by paramedics before being taken to James Cook University Hospital for treatment for hypothermia.

The Redcar inshore lifeboat then returned to pick up the woman, aged 58-years-old. By this time sea conditions had worsened and the woman was unable to board the lifeboat and so a UK Coastguard helicopter was dispatched.

On arrival the helicopter crew winched the woman to safety and took her to Durham Tees Valley Airport where an ambulance was waiting to take her to James Cook University Hospital. There she was assessed before being reunited with her husband.

The coastguard helicopter refuelled and returned to Saltburn to winch the lifeboat crew clear of the cliffs and to return them to the lifeboats.

Dave Cocks from Redcar RNLI said: ‘I’ve got nothing but praise for everyone involved in this rescue. I have to say I think our crews did a sterling job in effecting the rescue of the man in increasingly worsening sea conditions and strong north-easterly winds.

‘The helicopter crew were incredibly slick in winching the woman away from the cliffs, and she was quickly in the care of the ambulance service.

‘The coastguard teams on scene and in the UK Coastguard control room provided vital communications and coordination.’

ENDS

Notes to editors:

• Images show the Redcar lifeboats during the rescue of two people trapped by the tide at Saltburn. Credit RNLI/Redcar
• Redcar lifeboat station has been operating since 1802
• Redcar currently operates a B-class lifeboat named Leicester Challenge III, paid for by the people of Leicester, and an IB1-class lifeboat named Eileen May Loach-Thomas, paid from the legacy of the late Nicolas Thomas of Shropshire
• For more news, information and images go to www.redcarlifeboat.org.uk
• Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/redcarrnli
• Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RedcarRNLI

RNLI media contacts:

For more information please contact Dave Cocks, RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager on 07894 558 483, Alison Levett, RNLI PR Manager, North, on 01642 754828 or 07786 668912 or at [email protected]. Alternatively, contact Clare Hopps, RNLI Press Officer, North on 01642 754811 or 07824 518641 or at [email protected], or contact RNLI Public Relations on 01202 336789; [email protected]

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The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.

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