Walkers cut off by tide between Lyme Regis and Charmouth

At 5:36 pm crews from Lyme Regis Fire Station, Charmouth Fire Station, Honiton Fire Station and a water rescue crew from Exmouth Fire station were called to the incident along with the coastguard and the Lyme Regis RNLI. 

The callout came after two people had found themselves stuck in the mud after being cut off by the high tide at Black Venn between Lyme Regis and Charmouth on the evening of Sunday, January 22. 

The couple had been visiting for a birthday trip to Lyme Regis, they were enjoying the coast when they got into trouble and hastily dialled 999 and asked for the coastguard. 

The 4.6m tide proved too high for the fire services to reach them by land but the RNLI were able to rescue the pair due to the calm sea conditions along with the help of the coastguard mud rescue team. 

The Lyme Regis lifeboat launched within eight minutes of being contacted by the coastguard and was quick to arrive on the scene. 

On board the lifeboat were members of the Lyme Regis and West Bay coastguard team with their equipment from the lifeboat station. 

Due to the favourable sea conditions, two volunteer crew were able to head ashore to assure the two people that were stuck.

The coastguards were able to use their mud rescue equipment to assist the two people and then returned to the lifeboat station. 

The Lyme Regis lifeboat returned to the station by 8 pm.

Tim Edwards, helm of the lifeboat said “This was a great example of how our training helps, we had a multi-service challenge and everyone worked quickly and efficiently to recover the casualties during a rising tide.”

Walkers in Dorset are urged to check tide times before heading out on coastal walks to prevent emergencies like this from happening.

The callout for Lyme Regis RNLI came after the team were deployed to rescue three men on board a broken down rigid inflatable boat on Saturday. 

The lifeboat crew towed the vessel to safety in West Bay harbour at around 1:15 pm.