Marsden explorers trapped by rising tide in Tyneside bay

A warning has been issued to visitors of a north-east beach after two people became trapped by rising tide.

The men had to be hauled up a cliff when a bay near Marsden Rock, South Tyneside, was cut off on Wednesday.

Marsden is responsible for the majority of tide-related callouts in the area, the South Shields Volunteer Life Brigade (SSVLB) said.

It urged visitors to "always check the tide times and the weather forecast" before venturing on to the beach.

The coastguard, RNLI and brigade volunteers staged the rescue after the men became marooned at about 15:30 BST.

In all, 17 rescuers took part and set up a pulley system to hoist the men from the bay.

The SSVLB said the "complex" rescue took two hours but no-one was injured

A spokesman for the charity, which provides round-the-clock search and rescue, said it was fortunate the tide did not engulf the bay, unlike other parts of Marsden.

He said: "There are some bays a little bit further south that get cut off by the tide really quickly and there's no means of staying out of the water.

"If they were in one of those bays they would have gone into the sea.

"The two people found themselves in quite a secluded spot," he said.

The area has suffered from coastal erosion in recent years and some bays have become inaccessible at high tide.

The SSVLB, which helps with callouts across South Tyneside, aims to respond within 10 minutes of receiving a call from the coastguard.

The RNLI has urged also people to ensure they carry a fully charged mobile phone and to tell friends or family where they are going and what time they are expected back.

Follow BBC North East & Cumbria on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].