Edge of madness
Volunteer coastguards sacked for using OWN vehicle to rescue runaway car on cliff – and there’s no one to replace them until Christmas!
WITH more than 60 years as coastguards between them, volunteers Ian Pedrick and Richard Clarkson are used to keeping their corner of Devon safe.
But now the pair have been dismissed – simply because they bent rules by using their own vehicle to rescue a runaway car from a cliff edge.
And their entire coastguard station has been suspended, leaving locals fearful that other stations are too far away to provide effective cover.
Mr Pedrick, 59, and Mr Clarkson, 44, had been called to deal with a parked car which had started rolling towards the cliff at Bolberry Down near Salcombe, but were stood down when the vehicle stopped further down the slope. No lives were in danger.
They changed out of coastguard uniform and used Mr Clarkson’s personal Land Rover and equipment to tow the car back from the edge.
But they were deemed to have acted while still on duty because their coastguard vehicle – another Land Rover, which they didn’t use – was still at the scene. They have been dismissed by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency with immediate effect for a technical breach of the code of conduct.
Their Hope Cove station, which houses a lifeboat, a Land Rover and offices, has been suspended so the other coastguards can undertake ‘training’.
Mr Clarkson, who owns a metalworks company, and Mr Pedrick, a hotel owner, plan to appeal against the decision.
Mr Pedrick has been a coastguard for 42 years, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. He said: ‘It feels horrible. There is about 120 years of coastguarding gone. All that experience and knowledge.
‘We were acting off our own bats but as the coastguard vehicle was still here, technically we were still on duty. If we had taken the coastguard Land Rover back to the station none of this would have happened.’
Mr Pedrick said the station has been suspended until at least Christmas because there are now not enough people to run it.
He added: ‘There are six others apart from Richard and myself and they are being split between [stations at] Bigbury and Prawle.
‘There is no cover at all now at Hope Cove and the two other stations are at least half an hour away. None of them know the area they are now expected to cover.
‘At worse we should have been given a slap on the wrist and told not to do it again. We have done lots of jobs, including rescuing people from cliffs, we have picked up bodies, rescued dogs and helped in searches for missing people.
‘What are they playing at? It is ridiculous. The decisions could cost someone their life.’
Mr Pedrick said the volunteers were on call 24/7 and had always been willing to ‘drop everything’ to respond to an incident.
All volunteers with the MCA can claim a small amount in expenses, usually around £7.50 an hour; only management are employed fulltime. Volunteers must retake vigorous tests every two to three years to ensure standards are maintained.
The incident happened on June 20. The owner of the car, who has not been named, said he was appalled by their dismissal, calling it ‘a total overreaction’.
Local businessman Sean Hassall, 53, said the decision means the coastline is ‘no longer safe’.
He told the Daily Mail: ‘I think it’s absolutely outrageous what has happened. The response times from the other stations is a matter of life and death.’
Mr Hassall runs Oceans Restaurant, near the spot where the incident happened. He said: ‘My customers and myself have always felt safe knowing that these knowledgeable locals are always on hand to help out. I would trust them with my life.’
The MCA confirmed two officers had had their membership withdrawn and that the station had been suspended to allow ‘the team to undertake training and gain experience’. A spokesman said: ‘We would like to reassure the public that there is no reduction in the quality of search and rescue provided for that area, which is adequately covered by Bigbury and Prawle Coastguard Rescue Teams.’
Last year two lifeboat volunteers in Whitby, North Yorkshire, were sacked for making ‘pornographic images’ of colleagues. Critics said the RNLI had overreacted to what was ‘a light-hearted joke’.
‘This could cost someone their life’