Helicopter lifts eight people to safety from cliffs after incoming tide leaves them stranded
Five children and three adults who were trapped on a cliff side by an incoming tide had to be rescued in a dramatic helicopter operation.
The group of eight were forced to climb up the cliffs to escape the rapidly rising water at Brean Down, near Burnham-On-Sea in Somerset.
The walkers - two from Weston-super-Mare and six from the Easton area of Bristol - got into difficulty after they got cut off by the incoming tide, 20 feet up the cliffs and 250 metres from the shore.
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Trapped: Some of the eight walkers who were cut off by the fast-flowing incoming tide
Full-scale rescue: A helicopter and two lifeboats took part in the operation to help eight people stranded on the cliffs at Brean Down near Burnham-On-Sea in Somerset
A rescue team - which included Coastguards, an RAF helicopter and two lifeboat crews - was despatched to the terrified walkers at 7.45pm on Saturday.
A member of a lifeboat crew was landed on the rocks by helicopter to check the stranded walkers were unharmed before they were winched into the aircraft one by one and lifted to safety.
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The eight, who were panicked by the episode but unscathed, were met by their relieved families when the helicopter landed in a nearby field.
A car belonging to the couple from Weston-Super-Mare, who were among those rescued, had to be pulled in to shore by a tractor after it was submerged by the incoming tide.
Steve Bird, a coastguard officer, told the Burnham-on-Sea website: 'None of the eight walkers was in a life-threatening position, but their rescue was necessary because of the falling light.
'The lifeboats and helicopter did especially well consideirng the gusty wind and stromy sea conditions.'
Relieved: The party are reunited with their families in a nearby field following the dramatic rescue
Glenn Cutter, from the RNLI, added: 'The group was on the rocks about a third of the way out. The ride was still incoming and the waves were fairly steep, with force four winds gusting to six at times.'
The helicopter was sent to the scene from RAF Chivenor in Devon and was accompanied by two RNLI lifeboats and a rescue crew from the Burnham-On-Sea coastguard.
A crew from the Burnham Area Rescue Boat was also involved in the incident.
Mark Newman, the organisation's spokesman, witnessed the rescue and filmed the video below. He said: 'Two of the group had also parked their car on the beach and this became swamped by the high tide, which was higher than normal.'
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