The Coastguard Rescue Team from Bridlington and Filey, along with the Flamborough RNLI lifeboat were called out by Humber Coastguard today (Friday, 22 December), at 12.04 pm to reports of 2 dogs over the cliff and stuck in a cave close to the Flamborough Lighthouse.
Jordan Grebby, from Humber Coastguard, explained:
“Bridlington and Filey Coastguard teams arrived quickly on scene and established that both dogs were cut off in a cave at the bottom of the cliff. Flamborough RNLI due to the on-scene conditions were unable to get the boat close inshore, this meant that the rescue was going to prove to be rather difficult with an initially incoming tide.
“The cliff erosion at Flamborough close to the lighthouse makes even cliff rescue tricky and a decision was made to wait for the tide to recede in order to make the rescue slightly easier.
“For safety cover, Flamborough Lifeboat was requested to remain on scene whilst a rope rescue operation was undertaken by both of the Coastguard Rescue Team.
“Two technicians were deployed down the cliff into the mouth of the cave and rescued both dogs using our animal rescue bag and recovered to the top into the care of the grateful owner.
“This job took over 4 hours to ensure that that the safest extraction was possible and goes to show how much effort is put into technical rescue.
“If you are walking your dog on the cliff top paths, please ensure that you keep your dog on a lead, whilst we are always happy to respond to incidents like these it can be frustrating when they are avoidable.
“As always thank you for the owner for being patient whilst recovery took place.”
If you get into trouble at the coast or see someone who is, dial 999 and ask for the Coastguard.
