Bridlington Coastguard Rescue Team has faced a hectic start to the Bank Holiday weekend as warm weather and thousands of visitors to the Yorkshire coast led to a surge in incidents.
Over the last 24 hours, the team has dealt with a range of emergencies stretching across the coastline, from broken-down jet skis to injured beachgoers.
However, one incident on Saturday evening highlighted the importance of specialist rescue skills and teamwork.
Just after 8.30pm, Bridlington Coastguard Rescue Team and Hornsea Coastguard Rescue Team were called to assist Yorkshire Ambulance Service after reports that a person had fallen from cliffs at Skipsea.
Although emergency crews were able to reach the casualty at the base of the cliffs, recovering them safely presented a significant challenge.
Jordan Grebby of Bridlington Coastguard said the incident required specialist rescue techniques to bring the casualty back to safety.
He said: “Using specialist rope rescue equipment, the team established a technical rescue system from the cliff top. A Coastguard Rescue Cliff Technician was then carefully lowered down the cliff face to reach the injured casualty, package them safely into a stretcher and carry out their recovery back to the top.”
The casualty was then handed into the care of Yorkshire Ambulance Service and taken to hospital in a stable condition.
Commenting on the busy start to the holiday weekend, Jordan added: “From broken-down jet skis to injured beachgoers, we’ve been responding across the coastline, and this final incident of the evening proved just how vital specialist Coastguard rescue skills are.”
Coastguard teams are also reminding visitors to take care around cliff edges, warning that they can be unstable and dangerous, particularly during dry conditions and periods of high footfall.
Residents and visitors are being urged to keep well back from cliff edges and ensure children and dogs are supervised at all times.
