THE Whitehaven Coastguard has been training this week. 

The team was out on the cliffs of the West Cumbria coastline practicing rope rescue. 

The team participates in various exercises including water rescue, mud rescue, casualty evacuation, vessels in distress, lost and missing person searches, suspicious items, and protecting royal fish like whales, sturgeons, porpoises, and dolphins. 

HM Coastguard are responsible for the initiation and coordination of civil maritime search and rescue within the UK search and rescue region.

Whitehaven News: The team take part in the exercise The team take part in the exercise (Image: Whitehaven Coastguard)

This includes the mobilisation, organisation, and tasking of adequate resources to respond to persons either in distress at sea or to persons at risk of injury or death on the cliffs or shoreline of the UK as well as some inland waters (for Cumbria this includes Derwentwater, Ullswater, Coniston, and Windermere).

A Whitehaven Coastguard spokesperson said: "Rope rescue on the cliffs in the dark and cold was on the cards last night for training.

"The focus was on immediate rope rescue set-up. This takes two of our rope rescue technicians around 15 minutes on the scene to set up and then deploy to stabilise and treat a casualty ready for extraction.

"It can be used anywhere along our coastline from the towering high sandstone cliffs, to the small embankments requiring rope work.

Whitehaven News: The coastguard team The coastguard team (Image: Whitehaven Coastguard)

"A further three rope rescue operators are then required to assist in recovery to the clifftop, or the two technician configuration can lower to a place of safety.

"If lowering, this gives the option of extraction by one of our coastguard rescue helicopters or by the RNLI/independent lifeboats.

"This decision is assessed taking into account any risks associated with the terrain type and casualty condition (persons or pets) as assessed by our technician and officer in charge."