Two men were rescued from the base of Huntcliff, Saltburn, by RNLI lifeboats last night after they got cut-off by the tide during an evening walk - but only after a friend searched the internet for the telephone number for the emergency services.

The two Polish men, both in their 20s and living in Middlesbrough, were trapped with a third Polish man after walking from Saltburn to Skinningrove along the cliff top and then attempting to return to Saltburn along the bottom of the cliffs.

After they realised they were stranded, and uncertain how to raise the emergency services, they contacted a friend by mobile telephone who had to search the internet to see how to raise the alarm. Meanwhile the third man in the party managed to make his way back to Saltburn by wading through the sea. He then telephoned the police.

The two RNLI lifeboats from Redcar were launched just before 10.30pm. Following a short search, and with the assistance of the police helicopter and coastguard officers, the two stranded men were found between the point of Huntcliff and the Ship Inn in Saltburn.

They were picked up by the Redcar inshore lifeboat before being transferred to the larger lifeboat and taken to the lifeboat station.

There they were checked for injuries before being allowed home.

Dave Cocks, Lifeboat Operations Manager at Redcar RNLI, said: ‘This was a typical incident for us at Huntcliff. If people don’t check the tide times it’s all too easy to become trapped.

"What made it a bit different was the fact that the men weren’t from the UK and they didn’t know the 999 system for calling the emergency services.

"It’s very fortunate that the friend they called was able to raise the alarm for them, albeit by first looking-up on the internet how to do that."

 


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