Brixham coastguard tasked the Exmouth RNLI inshore lifeboat, George Bearman at 1pm today, 30 May. A dog, a young springer spaniel had fallen from Orcombe point during a walk.

The dog’s owner, a woman from Woodbury, walked to Sandy Bay to find the spaniel but found herself cut off by the tide when she reached the neighbouring bay.

The experienced team of RNLI crew volunteers: Robert ‘Tommo’ Thompson, David Preece and Roger Jackson reached the casualties in a matter of 3 minutes. The police helicopter and coastguards were also in attendance. The dog and owner were brought back to the lifeboat station to an awaiting coastguard team. Volunteer Lifeboat Operations Manager, Kevin Riley was on duty and issued the following advice;

‘Owners need to keep their dogs on a lead whilst walking on the cliffs. In this case, the lady did the right thing and didn’t follow the dog’s path, in which case she could have found herself in more danger. Although the lady didn’t intend to walk near to the water’s edge, she was caught out by the rapid change of tides that we experience near Exmouth. Be prepared and be aware of the times of the tides.’