Beach and cliff rescues

The Pett Level Independent Rescue Boat and RNLI Rye Harbour – along with the other emergency services – have been heavily involved during incidents at Camber, Winchelsea Beach and Fairlight over the past week, with crews called out on some of the hottest days of the summer so far.

Call to the emergency services were made after reports of people in difficulty in the water or cut off by the tide. A call for help was also made after a motor cruiser ran out of fuel.

In the most serious incident crews were called to Camber on Tuesday, June 2 after reports of casualties in the water. The lifeboats were paged just after 2pm. One person was taken to hospital by helicopter, with another taken by road to Conquest Hospital in Hastings.

At 11.46pm on Wednesday, June 25 UK Coastguard reported two people stuck at Fairlight  The volunteer crew from PLIRB assembled at the boathouse within a few minutes and prepared for launch. With a favourable high tide and calm conditions, the rescue boat was launched swiftly and proceeded to the location to conduct a search. Units from HM Coastguard – Hastings and HM Coastguard- Bexhill were positioned along the top of the cliffs, working with Sussex Police.

Jo O’Hara from PLIRB says rescuing the casualties by sea was decided to be the safest. “They were located and taken on board the rescue boat where our crew conducted welfare checks before bringing them back to Pett Slip. The two young casualties had embarked on a walk from Pett to Hastings believing there was a simple path. In darkness and with an incoming tide they soon realised they were in difficulty. They made the right decision to call for help. It highlights just how important it is to check tide times before making the attempt to walk under the cliffs and never to do it in darkness – it is treacherous with multiple hazards.”

Image Credits: Jo O'Hara .