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Sealed off: Beach stroll turns to cliffhanger as angler attacked

Rescue in darkness on Scottish cliff face after colony of aggressive seals forces man to flee

A toothy seal pup yawns while rolling on its back. “Aggressive seals are not a common occurrence and in this case they may have been protecting or defending their natural habitat and their young.” File photograph: Getty Images

Sat Nov 3 2018 - 16:19

A man has been rescued from a cliff face in darkness in Scotland after he was forced to flee a colony of aggressive seals.

About 50 of the mammals and their young pups turned on the angler as he walked along the beach near Eyemouth, Berwickshire, on Friday.

He scrambled up the cliff face in Green Stane in the Scottish Borders, but got trapped about three-quarters of the way up.

Emergency services alerted to the scene at about 7.40pm used rope rescue techniques to lower a coastguard officer 75ft to where the man was stuck on the cliff face.

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An RNLI lifeboat waiting offshore nipped in amid the seals to reach the angler and cliff technician, before taking them to Eyemouth Harbour.

Senior Coastguard operations officer Jonathan Mustard said: "Anyone who encounters a seal or a colony of seals on the beach or coastline is advised to move away at the first sign of agitation.

“Aggressive seals are not a common occurrence and in this case they may have been protecting or defending their natural habitat and their young.

“Remember to take a fully charged mobile when walking on the coast and call 999 and ask for the Coastguard if you get into difficulty. – Press Association

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