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Couple rescued while stranded on the rocks
Eastbourne lifeboat
A COUPLE who planned a bracing walk along the Eastbourne shoreline to celebrate a birthday ended up being rescued by the town’s lifeboat crew.
Having travelled to Eastbourne from their home town of Richmond, the pair became cut off by the incoming tide while making their way along the coast beneath the cliffs at Beachy Head.
The couple, who have not been named, set out earlier from Birling Gap hopeful of a memorable celebratory stroll.
However, their afternoon ended in a tense scramble across jagged rocks while waist deep in freezing water – a struggle which was seen by cliff-top walkers who quickly dialled 999.
The rescue effort was launched by coastguards in Dover but, after radio problems, the lead switched to their counterparts in Solent.
Eastbourne RNLI’s inshore lifeboat set off and once its crew had tracked down the stricken couple, the volunteer helmsman Paul Rogers nudged the boat into the rocks where crewmen Richard Larmour and Dan Guy helped the pair onboard.
The cold, wet and very relieved couple were then taken back to the steps at Birling Gap where they were passed to the care of the waiting coastguard cliff rescue team.
An RNLI spokesman later said that despite repeated warnings people, particularly visitors to the coast, still seem unaware of the extent of the rise and fall of the tide.
For example, on Sunday when the rescue took place, the water level went up by around five metres – or 16 foot.
They added, “Fortunately this couple were relatively fit and agile, but if there had been young children or less agile people involved the outcome could easily have been far worse.
“We urge people to seek expert guidance if they are in any doubt before setting out on these undercliff walks.”
Sunday was a busy day for the lifeboat crew.
That same afternoon a pair of teenagers had to be rescued after becoming trapped near the Belle Tout lighthouse.
Rising tides were again the cause.
Members of the inshore lifeboat crew rescued the two boys and took them to drier ground at Birling Gap.
Neither boy was injured during the incident.
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Weather for Eastbourne
Sunday 27 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 12 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: South west
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