Newly engaged couple rescued after seven-hour cliff-top ordeal in Ireland

A newly engaged couple had to be rescued from a cliff in gale-force winds after being trapped by an incoming tide.

The happy couple had just got engaged and went for a walk along Keel Beach on Achill Island, off the west coast of Ireland, to celebrate.

But their romantic moment turned to horror as the tide quickly washed in, cutting them off from dry land and trapping them against the sheer rock face.

The pair were forced to call the Irish Coast Guard for help, in what became a seven-hour operation to save them.

Coast Guard volunteer Peter McManamon, who coordinated the operation, told BBC News NI: "They were two very lucky people."

His team had to battle the “atrocious” weather conditions to reach the couple, as the stormy waters were too rough to send out the rigid inflatable boat.

“It was blowing Force 8 to 10 at the time and the wave conditions wouldn't let us," Mr McManamon said.

"We tried to walk out along the rocks to them but... the waves were just coming in and it was just too dangerous to put the crew in, so the helicopter was tasked."

The Coast Guard helicopter was also unable to help because the down draft off the cliff was too strong to allow the crew to winch the couple to safety.

Climbers from Achill Island Coast Guard's cliff rescue team were then brought in to abseil down the towering cliff to snatch the couple out of the cold waters, which by this point had reached their knees.

The rescuers took the woman up first, while her new fiance waited in the water, then they came back for him. Both of them were brought to higher ground before ropes were used to haul them 150m to the top of the cliff.

"They were very cold - hypothermia was beginning to set in," Mr McManamon added.

The nightmare was far from over, however, as the rough terrain couldn’t be reached by vehicle, so the not-so-happy couple trudged two kilometres down the hill to a waiting ambulance, where they were checked over but ultimately let go.

It comes after volunteer coastguards were told they would no longer be paid for responding to emergency callouts following a Court of Appeal ruling.

In June, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said it would have to "change how the service operates" after the Court of Appeal upheld a judgement classing responders as "workers" while they were carrying out their duties.