Coastguards pluck five children from cliff ledge

FIVE children who became stranded on a cliff ledge above the sea were rescued after being spotted by a passing yacht.

The group of children aged 11 and 12 had been walking round the rocks at Roundham Head, Livermead, between Torquay and Paignton, when they got stuck.

A spokesman for Brixham coastguards which co-ordinated their rescue, said one of the youngsters had tried to climb the cliff to raise the alarm but had been unsuccessful.

He said: "They panicked when breaking waves started crashing close to them."

A Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokeswoman said the children were on two ledges about 6ft and 14ft above the sea.

The incident happened at 1.30pm on Saturday.

The coastguard said the five children did not have any mobile phones with them and resorted to waving and shouting at a passing yacht, the Carolina, which then raised the alarm.

He added: "They were lucky because there aren't many passing vessels out there at this time of year."

The children, who are understood to be from South Devon, were rescued by Torbay's RNLI inshore lifeboat. No one was injured.

They were landed ashore at Goodrington and given safety advice by Torbay coastguards.