Angler rescued from cliff face after escaping from aggressive seals on beach



Coastguard Rescue Teams prepare their equipment for a rope
rescue at Green Stane, near Eyemouth
A man has been rescued from a cliff face in Green Stane, near Eyemouth after he was forced to climb it to escape a large colony of aggressive seals on the beach.
 
The man, who had been angling in the area, was walking along the beach when he came across approximately 50 grey seals and their young pups, who quickly became agitated and turned aggressive.
 
In order to avoid them he scrambled up the cliff face and became trapped about three quarters of the way up.
 
Realising his predicament, the man did exactly the right thing and called the emergency services using his mobile at around 7.40pm yesterday (2 November). 
 
Four Coastguard Rescue Teams from Dunbar, Berwick, North Berwick and Eyemouth and Eyemouth RNLI All Weather Lifeboat were sent to the location, alongside Police Scotland.
 
They quickly located the man, and using their rope rescue techniques, they were able to lower a Coastguard Rescue officer 75ft to safely extract the casualty from the cliff face and onto the waiting lifeboat below.  The RNLI Lifeboat quickly nipped in amid the seals and put onboard the angler and the cliff technician before taking them to Eyemouth Harbour.
 
Thankfully, despite the man’s ordeal, he is uninjured and only suffering from minor cold exposure.
 
Senior Coastguard Operations Officer Jonathan Mustard said:  “Anyone who encounters a seal or a colony of seals on the beach or coastline is advised to move away at the first sign of agitation. Aggressive seals are not a common occurrence and in this case they may have been protecting or defending their natural habitat and their young. Remember to take a fully charged mobile when walking on the coast and call 999 and ask for the Coastguard if you get into difficulty.’
 










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