Ceredigion beach paddleboarder rescuers winched to safety

Two police officers, RNLI crew and members of the public who saved a paddleboarder trapped on a cliff were winched to safety after the search.

Campers saw someone clambering up rocks and when a paddleboard was found off Traeth Bach Beach in Ceredigion and all six went searching for the man.

They scaled the rock face and found the missing 30-year-old alone and cold in the early hours of Saturday.

A helicopter helped the rescue party to safety after the seven hour search.

The search for the paddleboarder was launched at 23.30 BST but it was not until the early hours when the rescue crew were able to trace him to the rock face.

Brett Stones, helm of New Quay inshore lifeboat and crew member Dan Montgomery climbed to the top to tend to the man.

"It was now very dark and we could not see anything," said Mr Stones.

"It was quite dangerous work climbing up but with guidance from local resident Pob Thomas, and with the help of the all-weather lifeboat's search lights and parachute flares, we soon found the casualty.

"We worked with the Coastguard helicopter and the casualty was airlifted to Morriston hospital.

"Two police officers and two members of the public had also climbed up and we realised that it would not be safe to climb down in darkness.

"The rescue helicopter then returned and transferred us two-by-two to nearby Penbryn beach where we were picked up by the lifeboat. We finally returned to the station by 6am."

One of the police officers who helped with the rescue was Sgt Matthew Howells.

He also climbed the rock face with his colleague PC Seth Davies. He said: "Our priority was to protect life.

"We weren't thinking about how to get down.

"It was 1am by this time, and pitch black.

"There were rocks on the beach which become an island when the tide comes in. The tide was right out, so we climbed up one side to get to the top.

"We used the lights from the helicopter to find our way to the top."

Once the man was had been airlifted to safety, there was the question of how the six of them would get off the cliff.

"It was too steep to climb back down - even in daylight we wouldn't have been able to get down," Sgt Howells said.

"We were winched up two by two, which was an experience, and dropped off at Penbryn Beach."

The RNLI said the paddleboarder, who has not been named, was "safe and well".