Late on Sunday evening the Borth RNLI lifeboat and the Borth and Aberystwyth HM Coastguard units rescued two people and their two dogs cut-off by tide near Clarach Bay.
The Borth RNLI Lifeboat was called out at 8.07pm on Sunday evening after two Estonian students rang Milford Haven HM Coastguard to report that they had been cut off by the tide under cliffs just north of Clarach Bay in Mid-Wales. The two students had been walking with their two Golden Retrievers when they discovered that the incoming tide had cut them off. Having spent some time trying to find a route to safety they decided that they needed to call HM Coastguard for assistance.
The Milford Haven Coastguard alerted the RNLI inshore lifeboat at Borth, which was launched to assist. They also called out the local Borth and Aberystwyth HM Coastguard units, who made their way to the top of the cliffs.
When the RNLI volunteer crew arrived at the scene they discovered the two students at the base of the cliff, but the two dogs were on a ledge higher up and out of reach of the lifeboat. The lifeboat approached and was able to extract the two people. It was decided that the best approach to rescue the dogs would be for the Coastguard to abseil down the cliff and attempt to bring the dogs up.
The lifeboat took the two people back into Clarach and one of the RNLI volunteer crew remained with them there to provide assurance and check their condition. They were provided with hospitality at the Glanymor holiday park.
The lifeboat then returned to the scene and stood off whilst one of the Coastguard team abseiled down to the dogs. As he approached the ledge the dogs backed away so the lifeboat moved in to be able to intervene if necessary. The Coastguard officer gave the dogs encouragement and was able to approach them. He managed to put the two dogs in a bag designed for this purpose and attached a line, so that the rest of the Coastguard unit could haul them up to safety.
Once the dogs were safely on top of the cliff the lifeboat returned to Clarach to pick up the crew member who had stayed there. The Coastguard reunited the students with their dogs and the lifeboat returned to station, arriving back at 10.00pm after it had got dark. The lifeboat was refuelled and got ready for service before the crew and shore support volunteers could eventually make their way home.
