THE RNLI has described how they saved a group of people and two dogs after a large section of cliff collapsed onto a coast path in Newquay on Saturday afternoon.

The D-Class picked up the stranded men and the dogs from the Fly Cellars one by one due to the large swell before transferring them to the larger Atlantic Lifeboat after the landslip, which happened between the Fly Cellars and The Huer’s Hut shortly before 3pm.

The police helicopter, Newquay Coastguard Search and Rescue Team, the police and Cormac were also tasked to the incident. No one was injured.

A spokesperson for Newquay RNLI said: “Newquay lifeboat volunteers were paged and tasked to evacuate five people and two dogs, who had become trapped following a large landslide just above the Fly Cellars, close to Newquay harbour.

“Both of the charity’s lifeboats were launched, with the crew of the D class heading immediately to the steps just off the Fly Cellars.

“Arriving on scene, the volunteer crew got close to the casualties to check that no one was injured and to assess the situation.

“Once the crew of the Atlantic arrived, the two crews formulated a plan to recover the casualties.

“A member of the crew from the Atlantic joined the D class crew and was put ashore to assist another crew member who had already been dropped off prior to the Atlantic arriving.

“Due to the timing of the tide and the location, there was a lot of swell rising and falling against the rocks, the decision had already been made that the helm of the D class would land the bow of the boat on a flat rock on a rise of the swell.

“This enabled each casualty to be assisted aboard the lifeboat one by one. The first two casualties were handed over to crew on the Atlantic who took them back to the safety of the harbour and then returned to the scene to continue with the rescue operation.

“After all five of the casualties were and two cherished pets, were taken back to the safety of the harbour, they were taken into the lifeboat station where they were offered a hot drink and a water bowl for the dogs, checked for any injuries and offered some advice from one of our trained paramedic crew members.”

Matt Robins, D class helm, added: “Although the sea conditions weren’t particularly rough, the scene where we had to evacuate the casualties from was proving difficult.

“Due to the swell rising and falling against the rocks, we had to communicate with the crew onshore and ask them to follow our precise instructions.

“One minor slip could have seen the casualties fall into the water’.After the casualties left the station, all equipment was cleaned and made ready for service and a thorough debrief was carried out. All personnel were thanked by the launch authority for completing another successful rescue and left the station around 5.15pm.”