Men and dog rescued after pet's 200ft cliff fall

The RNLI said a search for the men and Jorj the spaniel took place in "strong southerly winds and driving rain"

A dog which had fallen over 200ft (61m) down a seaside cliff, and two men who tried to help it, had to be rescued by a lifeboat crew after becoming stranded by a rising tide.

Jorj, a spaniel, fell down onto a beach on Wednesday afternoon after running through a clifftop bush during a walk from Robin Hood's Bay to Whitby in North Yorkshire.

After making their way down to the beach, Jorj's owner and his friend found the dog, but by the time they reached him, the incoming tide was fast approaching.

Abbie Railton, 33, the dog owner's partner, who stayed at the top of the cliff and called the coastguard, said she felt "huge huge relief" when she found out they were safe.

"Where I was, I was literally standing being able to watch their phone lights trying to head back," Ms Railton said.

"Their phone lights disappeared just before I knew they were okay."

Jorj the spaniel was unharmed despite falling from such a height from the top of the cliff

RNLI crew members were called to the scene at about 16:45 GMT on Wednesday and launched both their inshore lifeboat and the all-weather lifeboat due to heavy rain and driving winds.

The two men and dog were eventually rescued by the inshore lifeboat crew, but transferred to the all-weather craft because of the weather conditions.

The crew returned Jorj and the men to Whitby lifeboat station, where they were "checked over and given safety advice", the RNLI said.

Richard Dowson, coxswain at Whitby Lifeboat Station, said: "I was up on the top of the all-weather lifeboat and the rain was like needles hitting me in the face.

"We'll go out there whatever the weather is, that's what we're there to do, but it makes our job a little bit more challenging at this time of year when we get the poorer weather."

Ms Railton said she, her partner Ian and their friend Gavin had "huge respect for" the RNLI crew involved.

"We're really, really grateful and we can't thank them enough," she said.

Jorj's owners say they have "huge, huge respect" for the RNLI volunteers following the rescue

However, Ms Railton, 33, criticised some "absolutely awful comments" on social media about what had happened.

"We're not irresponsible dog owners. We aren't people out to cause trouble. We're not a nuisance," she said.

"Me, with my family, we've been going down to Whitby for 20 years and we have never had an incident like this. It was just one of those things that happens."

Mr Dowson said: "People always say to us, 'how come you went and rescued a dog?'

"People are very attached to dogs, like a family member, and if they see that dog in difficulty, their instant reaction is to go and rescue it."

Mr Dowson added that people often got into difficulty when trying to help their pets, and urged owners to instead contact emergency services in the first instance.

Meanwhile, Leah Hunter, who was helm on the inshore lifeboat during Wednesday's callout, said: "We strongly advise keeping dogs on a lead on the cliff top.

"Even the most well-behaved dogs can get into trouble due to the steep nature of the cliffs and proximity to the paths.

"We were very relieved to find that the dog was unharmed, but it isn't always a happy ending."

Ms Railton said: "The dog will obviously never be as lucky again, and I don't think Ian and Gavin will be either. They've both put the lottery on for tonight."

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