Sussex coastal walkers rescue trapped dolphin

The dolphin had become trapped between rocks on the shore

A group of women who were out for a walk on the Sussex coast rescued a dolphin which had become trapped in a rock gulley in rough seas.

Three members of the Hastings Rounders team came across the animal at Rock-a-Nore, near Hastings, on Thursday and two of them went into the water.

They battled the incoming tide for more than 20 minutes before managing to release the dolphin.

It then swam away towards Bexhill, one of the rescuers, Amy Walker, said.

She said they had been alerted to the dolphin by a flock of gulls hovering above it.

Fellow rescuer Carrie Warrior said: "We all thought it was a shark to begin with. I thought how can we pull its tail with teeth the other end?"

Sarah Gale, the third member of the group, said: "When we got closer we could see it wasn't a shark but a dolphin or maybe a porpoise.

"We could all tell that time was running out for it so then Amy just said 'hold my coat'. Before I knew it Amy and Carrie were in the water."

'Adrenaline took over'

"It was being battered against the rocks, so we had to make a call. We could see it was in a really bad place," Ms Walker told BBC Radio Sussex.

"I'm a strong swimmer and felt really confident, so I got in.

"The tide was coming in and the waves were really quite strong," she said, adding: "We were trying to manoeuvre this really heavy animal in the water. It was all quite full-on."

It took more than 20 minutes to move the dolphin until they were able to turn it and release it back into the sea.

Ms Warrior said: "We didn't feel the cold until we got out - adrenaline took over.

"It was an amazing experience and we all feel blessed that we were there," she said.

"I've never pulled on a dolphin's tail before, and I probably never will again."

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