Couple rescued from Lyme Regis harbour

Pair stranded by the tide needed treatment after suffering the early stages of hypothermia

A couple who had been cut off by the high tide on the North Wall of Lyme Regis Harbour were rescued last night (Monday) by the crew of the town’s RNLI lifeboat.

The man and his wife had been stranded for two hours and were suffering the effects of cold.

The middle-aged couple, on holiday from Oxford, were taken to the lifeboat station where they were wrapped in blankets and given hot drinks until an ambulance crew arrived.

The lifeboat’s deputy launching authority, Garry Gibbs, said: “The coastguards were unable to reach the couple safely because of the high tide, the current, and darkness so they called us out just after 9pm for one of our shortest trips across the harbour.

“The couple were very cold and drenched by the torrential rain.

“The coastguards and our crew looked after them in the lifeboat station. They were then seen by the ambulance crew who later returned them to their address in Beer accompanied by coastguards.

“The couple had fishing rods with them and it looks as if they simply lost track of time and didn’t realise the high tide was coming in.”