POLICE swapped their uniforms for climbing gear when they got to grips with coastal cliff rescue techniques.

Seven PCs and support officers joined Whitby’s Coastguard team to learn about safety equipment, reaching inaccessible places, retrieving casualties and how the coastguard can help the police in various situations.

Among them was PC Melanie Smith, who said: “Being a coastal community, we work with the Coastguard on a regular basis.

“There are many scenarios where their expert assistance is invaluable, from searches for missing people, rescuing casualties from difficult to reach and dangerous places, to retrieving evidence for our investigations.”

The training exercise involved two separate scenarios - retrieving a casualty from the bottom of a cliff, and negotiating with a member of the public in a dangerous location – which were simulated on the port’s East Pier.

“Practising such situations prepares us for real-life events, it helps us work faster with increased knowledge and better understanding of what is likely to be involved - which in return, helps us secure evidence or rescue casualties effectively and efficiently,” said PC Smith.