Two 14-year-olds who became trapped at the bottom of a West Cumbrian cliff as the tide rolled in were rescued by the RNLI.
The youngsters had gone fishing at the bottom of St Bees Head, but due to a sudden and heavy downpour, their planned route back became slippery and unsafe.
They called the Coastguard at around 8.30pm yesterday, June 18, for help.
A spokesman for Whitehaven Coastguard Rescue Team said: “They sheltered safely until our arrival. In this situation, calling us was exactly the right thing to do.
“Our officer in charge requested if both RNLI and Coastguard Helicopter support would be available given the weather conditions, but neither of these was an option at this time.
“Coastguard teams working alongside Cumbria police to locate the casualties who were not injured and were sheltering at the base of the cliffs. Rope rescue equipment was taken to the cliff edge and a rescue technician was kitted and ready to deploy.
“Thankfully at this point, with the weather having improved slightly earlier, Workington Lifeboat had managed to launch and were now in sight approaching.
“With this welcome news and to reduce the risk to our rope rescuers, the lifeboat was directed in to the casualties’ location. They were able to deploy their smaller inflatable boat to recover the two boys.
St Bees RNLI also attended.
Workington RNLI’s inshore lifeboat was used to guide the youngsters to transfer them to the all-weather lifeboat for assessment.
Both were safe and well and no injuries were found.
They were handed over into the care of Whitehaven Coastguard Rescue Team.
Whitehaven Coastguard Rescue Team added: “We would like to stress that these youths, having realised the predicament they were in, did exactly the right thing and stopped and called 999 for the Coastguard immediately, preventing any worsening of their situation and risk of injury.”
