The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Tragedy averted as five rescued at cliffs
EMERGENCY: Youths reported to be tombstoning before they got into trouble at Arbroath
A major weekend drama on the Angus coastline has brought condemnation of those who fail to heed warnings over the dangers of the sea.
Just hours before a mum and son lost their lives in an Aberdeen beach tragedy, emergency crews were involved in rescuing a group of youths from the Arbroath cliffs after they got into difficulties on Saturday afternoon.
Five young men had to be rescued in the multi-agency operation involving the coastguard, RNLI, Scottish Fire and Rescue, Police Scotland and the Scottish Ambulance Service.
The group got into trouble around the Deil’s Heid area shortly before 3pm, with unconfirmed reports that they may have been tombstoning – the dangerous practice of jumping into the sea.
Four were rescued by Arbroath lifeboat crews after the launch of both local boats, with a fifth recovered by firefighters on land using a rope rescue line.
As well as the RNLI and coastguard teams, the operation involved fire crews from Arbroath, Dundee and Perth.
None of the rescued males were badly injured and it is understood they were allowed home after being checked over by waiting paramedics at Arbroath lifeboat station.
The weekend incident follows a similar situation in June in the immediate aftermath of the Festival of Heroes event and Arbroath councillor David Fairweather said people are dicing with death by failing to heed countless warnings about the dangers posed by the cliffs and the sea.
“They are putting their own lives at risk and they are risking the lives of our emergency services by going into situations which can so quickly turn to tragedy,” he said.
“How often do they need to be told how quickly it can turn from calm to rough and how something which may seem fun is suddenly not so funny once you are in the water?
“Tragically, we saw in Aberdeen what a nightmare things can become – we could so easily have been reporting a tragedy in Arbroath.
“Our emergency services do a wonderful job and all involved in this incident deserve huge credit for a safe and successful outcome.
“But people have to realise that they are putting not just their own lives at risk when they ignore all these warnings that have been given out,” added Mr Fairweather.
They are putting their own lives at risk and they are risking the lives of our emergency services by going into situations which can so quickly turn to tragedy