YOUNGSTERS scrambled up cliffs hit by landslides after becoming cut off by the tide in West Dorset.

Coastguards were called out twice in the space of two hours to rescue the people from rocks between Charmouth and Lyme Regis.

The alerts on Thursday night came on a stretch of the coast affected by landslides and after the death of Charlotte Blackman at Burton Bradstock a fortnight ago.

Coastguards have warned of the dangers of venturing along the coast amid landslides – and particularly against rising tides.

Lyme Regis coastguard sector manager Peter Pritchard urged people to consult tide tables and heed warnings about mud and landslides.

He said: “The advice for anyone going along the beach is that they need to understand the falling or rising tides.”

Mr Pritchard said that anyone walking along the beach in a rising tide would be pushed back closer to the cliffs, making them more vulnerable in the event of a landslide.

He added: “Another consequence is that when people go out to rescue those cut off by the tide they have to put themselves at greater risk.”

The coastguard helicopter airlifted two sets of two people from the cliffs in the rescues.

At 6.40pm it was scrambled to rescue two boys who had ignored safety warning signs and climbed over a landslip area between Charmouth and Lyme Regis.

The Lyme Regis lifeboat was also launched as the duo were cut off by the high spring tide. A search of the coastline by the lifeboat proved fruitless, but later shouts were heard from the undergrowth in the Black Ven area.

Lifeboat deputy launching authority Garry Gibbs said: “Two of our crew – Jon Broome and Andrew Rice – swam ashore.

“But they could still not see the two people in the dense undergrowth on the cliff.

“It appears they had tried to climb to safety and became lost.”

Portland coastguard helicopter was alerted and spotted the pair in the undergrowth. They were airlifted to Charmouth to be reunited with family.

As coastguards were returning from this incident at 8.20pm, they were alerted to another pair of people cut off in the area of Black Ven.

Coastguards met them as they climbed away from the beach and managed to reach safety.

The rescue comes as people are still warned to keep away from beaches with cliffs after their backdrop.

The beach at Burton Bradstock is still closed although work is being carried out to make the areas safer.

A spokesman for Dorset County Council spokesman said: “We have done some work to improve safety but it is a dynamic environment.

“People should stay away from the base of the cliff and heed all the warning signs that we have put out.”