The pair, a man and a woman, raised the alarm by mobile telephone after they found they were trapped approximately half-way between the Ship Inn and the point of Huntcliff at around 1.15pm on Monday 16 November 2020.
Both RNLI lifeboats from Redcar were sent to the scene. Redcar’s smaller IB1 class lifeboat ran into the cave. The crew checked on the welfare the two people before putting them into the lifeboat for the short journey to the Ship Inn slipway where a Coastguard rescue team was waiting.
Steve Atkinson, helm of the lifeboat, said: ‘They are two very lucky people. The tide was only halfway in but the water was already washing round their feet. There was another 2.5 metres of tide to come in.’
Steve, who was in charge of his first successful rescue since qualifying as a helm in September this year, added: ‘They did exactly the right thing by staying put. It would have been dangerous to try and wade or swim to safety. The ground in that area is full of rocks and holes and the outcome could have been far worse.’
Ends
Notes to editors:
Attached are images of the rescue (credit RNLI/Redcar) and helm Steve Atkinson (credit RNLI/Dave Cocks)
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 Mr Nick Thomas of Shropshire
Any images used should be credited RNLI/Redcar unless indicated
RNLI media contacts:
For more information please contact Dave Cocks, RNLI Lifeboat Press Officer on 07894 558 483. Alternatively, contact Clare Hopps, RNLI Press Officer, North 07824 518641 or at [email protected], or contact RNLI Public Relations on 01202 336789; [email protected]
RNLI/Redcar
Two people had a lucky escape when they were trapped in a cave at Huntcliff, Saltburn, by one of the biggest tides of the lunar cycle.
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.
