WATCH: Woman left stranded on cliff by spring tide

A large-scale rescue operation was mounted after a woman became trapped on steep cliffs above the incoming tide in Newquay, Cornwall, UK.

The terrified woman was left stranded ten feet up the cliff face, with a two-metre swell hitting the rocks near Barrowfields.

After she called 999, Newquay RNLI lifeboat volunteers responded to the launch request from the UK coastguard and launched the D class inshore lifeboat. Their fourth shout in three days, the crew searched for the stranded woman in the north of Tolcarne Beach, with just two hours until high tide.

With support from UK Coastguard, and the Newquay Coastguard rescue team working on the cliff top, she was swiftly located.

However, due to conditions under the cliffs, it was deemed safer for the stranded woman to be rescued by the crew of the Coastguard search and rescue helicopter. With the lifeboat crew standing by a short distance offshore, and water breaking around her, the woman was rescued from the cliff face by the helicopter winch paramedic and landed safely on Tolcarne Beach.

RNLI volunteer deputy launching authority, Wayne Martin says: “This was a good response and teamwork from all of the emergency crews involved.”

Strong winds over the weekend in some parts of the UK also caused multiple incidents and call-outs for the RNLI. In Fistral Bay, the Newquay RNLI lifeboat volunteers were paged three times in just over 24 hours.

On Saturday 19 March, the Newquay RNLI crew were called out to rescue two surfers who had been blown out to sea in a southeasterly offshore wind.

The surfers were being assisted by Newquay Surf Life Saving Club but were unable to make their way back to the shore. The RNLI’s Atlantic 85 lifeboat launched and the crew successfully recovered the two surfers, who were checked over for any injuries and taken back to the lifeboat station, where they were given a hot drink while they recovered from their ordeal.

Less than an hour after Saturday’s rescue, the pagers sounded again and the lifeboat crew were alerted to another surfer being blown out to sea in the same area. However, once they had arrived at the scene, the casualty had made it safely back to shore with the assistance of Newquay Surf Life Saving Club.

Martin adds: “If you’re walking the shoreline, please check tide times, watch your exit points and if you get into difficulties, call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.”