Two cut off by tide near Budleigh Salterton

Conditions hazardous

Two people have been rescued after being cut off by the tide near Budleigh Salterton on the East Devon coast.

Exmouth's RNLI was called after the coastguard informed them of the pair being stranded between Otter Point and Brandy Head on Wednesday afternoon.

The lifeboat launched within 10 minutes of the alert around 4.45 p.m. By 5.35pm both casualties were located on the beach and, despite difficult sea conditions, the crew managed to land the lifeboat and take the casualties on board. Both were taken to the safety of land at Ladram Bay where they were placed into the care of the HM Coastguard team. Neither were injured or required medical attention.

Volunteer helm Guy Munnings said: “The sea conditions during this tasking were hazardous and we located the two casualties in a cove where manoeuvering was hard. The couple had gone for a stroll along the beach while the tide was out and it came back in, effectively trapping them. It was extremely difficult to land the lifeboat and safely retrieve the stranded pair but our training kicked in and we were able to rescue them and quickly get them to safety.”     

Tide times and heights vary and can be unpredictable. Getting cut off by the tide contributes to a significant number of RNLI rescues every year – official RNLI safety advice concerning tides and tidal cut off can be found at: https://rnli.org/safety/know-the-risks/tides