Lyme Regis RNLI crewmen provide vital support during landslip at Burton Brandstock.

RNLI crew members from Lyme Regis played a vital role during a rescue operation following a landslip at Burton Bradstock.

Crews were rotated throughout the day and into the night to provide help at the scene at Freshwater Beach last Tuesday.

The body 22 year-old woman has been located - her next of kin and the coroner has been informed.

The landslip occurred just after 12.30pm and Dorset Police were called to the scene after reports from the coastguard that a woman was trapped under the rocks.

At the request of Portland coastguards the lifeboat, Spirit of Loch Fyne, also enforced a 500metre exclusion zone from the beach.

Crew member, Jon Broome, said: “We were effectively the eyes from the sea for the other rescue services. And apart from helping to move vital equipment we also kept watch on the cliffs for any further movement and would have raised the alarm if necessary.”

Two crew members, Dave Street and Elliott Herbert, went ashore to assist other rescue services, and the lifeboat was used to ferry equipment along the shoreline.

The first Lyme Regis crew were at sea for four hours before a second, relief four-man crew was taken to the scene thanks to an offer from fishing boat skipper Allan Nation and his vessel Amaretto 2.

The Dorset Local Resilience forum which comprises of Dorset Police, Dorset Fire and Rescue, all local councils and HM Coastguard, is advising residents and visitors to West Dorset to avoid cliffs and beaches with a cliff backdrop, following the significant landslide.