Two people and their dog rescued from foot of steep cliffs near Dunbar

An RNLI lifeboat has rescued two people and their dog from the foot of steep cliffs after they were cut off by a high tide and in strong winds.

The dog is brought on board to safety. Picture: RNLI

The incident, which occurred on Saturday (31 August) afternoon, saw volunteers on both Dunbar’s inshore (ILB) and all weather (ALB) lifeboats

help the walkers after they found themselves stranded on the rugged coastline near Bilsdean, southeast of Torness.

The two female dog walkers had raised the alarm after becoming stuck on steep ground with the rising tide and very strong winds hindering their ability to make it safely back to dry land.

With its owners following shortly after. Picture: RNLI

The ILB launched from the harbour just five minutes after the initial call and the ALB left its mooring at Torness Power Station ten minutes later.

Both boats travelled south to Bilsdean and after a short shoreline search by the ILB the casualties were spotted and assisted by two of the ILB crew, who were dropped onshore to assess and reassure the women.

With both of them and their dog unharmed and able bodied they made a short traverse of the shore to a safe and more sheltered spot where they were recovered by the ILB, before being transferred to the awaiting ALB and transported to Dunbar Harbour where they met with Coastguard teams from Dunbar, Eyemouth and Berwick for further checks to their health and well-being.

A spokesperson for Dunbar RNLI said, “We have a lot of beautiful and dramatic coastline along the south east coast which is a joy to explore most of the time.

“However, today’s incident highlights that, even when prepared with tide times and knowledge of the area, many external factors can have an impact upon your safety.

“The strong winds today provide a prime example of this, as in effect, the wind pinned the casualties to their somewhat precarious location while the tide quickly rose around them. Thankfully they were able to recognise their limits and called the Coastguard for help: two factors that greatly added to the happy outcome to today’s call out.”

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