Father and two children airlifted to safety from incoming tide.

A MAN and his two children were airlifted to safety after getting trapped on rocks by the rising tide. The family, from Saltburn, were winched to safety by an RAF rescue helicopter after they were trapped near Staithes. The father called in the emergency services after ringing the Humber Coastguard on his mobile phone. He told rescuers where he and his daughter, 13, and son eight, were on the foreshore between Staithes and Skinningrove. The trio had set off to walk to Staithes last Sunday afternoon and became trapped by the rapidly rising tide. The man's wife had rung the coastguard as she was worried about the tide and did not know where her family was. Staithes Lifeboat was launched at 12.50pm and was directed by the father who managed to reach it on his mobile. The crew were joined by the coastguard and an RAF Leconfield rescue helicopter. The three of them were found stranded on rocks above the rising waves half-a-mile south of Skinningrove at 1.05pm. Due to the closeness of the cliffs it was decided the safest option was to winch the three to safety. The family, who were not injured, were flown by the RAF helicopter to Skinningrove beach.
Lifeboat helmsman Paul Theaker said: "We would urge anyone intending to walk along the coast, beneath the cliffs, to check the time of high tide and to tell someone when they set off and expect to return."