Man’s ‘strange behaviour’ sparks Lyme helicopter rescue

Safety fears for fossil hunter spotted in dangerous cliff fall area

A fossil hunter’s “strange” behaviour sparked a coastguard alert at Lyme Regis yesterday morning (Tuesday).

Rescue officers were called to check on the safety of a man spotted on the beach east of the resort between the two dangerous areas of Black Ven and a new landslip.

On scene they reported him as behaving strangely and, due to the sea conditions, the only method of extraction was by helicopter.

Portland based Rescue-106 was flown in and discovered several people on the beach who all appeared to be fossiling and in no danger.