Beyond the call of duty

Beyond the call of duty

Credit: Twitter

Beyond the call of duty. Two police officers used an old fishing rope to bravely climb down a sheer cliff to attempt to rescue a man who needed CPR.

PC Mandir Xherija and PC Steve Merritt from North Yorkshire Police have been nominated for a 2021 National Police Bravery Award.

North Yorkshire Police took to Twitter to celebrate the bravery of the two officers. The force said: “Unbelievable bravery, we are so proud of these two

“Two of our officers, who used an old fishing rope to descend 100 feet down a sheer cliff to try and rescue a man who had landed on the rocks below, have been nominated for the National Police Bravery Awards.

“Once PC Steve Merritt and PC Mandir Xherija had got down the craggy rockface in Scarborough on 10 October last year, they administered emergency CPR to the man as the incoming tide began to rush in.

“PC Xherija was the first to respond to a call that an abandoned rucksack and mobile phone had been found on the clifftop.

“The member of the public calling was concerned that someone might have left it there before deciding to jump from the cliff edge.”

The force explained: “Given the location, PC Xherija had had to park his patrol car someway from the scene, but he sprinted across neighbouring fields to get to the cliff edge as soon as possible.

“Once he had reached the cliff, he peered down to see if he could see anyone on the rocks below before venturing out on a piece of the ridge which juts out to get a better view.

“It was clearly a risky thing to do, but it was the only way for him to see if anybody needed his help.

“Thanks to his new vantage point, he could see what looked like the arm of a person poking up between the rocks.

“Realising the person was in serious trouble, he courageously decided to use an old fishing rope embedded in the cliff to lower himself 100 feet down to the ground.

“Making it safely to the ground, he found the man and began to perform CPR on him.

“PC Merritt arrived on the scene at this stage, and again courageously, he also used the fisherman’s rope to scale down the cliff.”

The officers fought to save the man’s life while they waited for a helicopter rescue.

North Yorkshire Police commented: “A Coastguard rescue helicopter was on the way. While the officers waited for the helicopter, they continued to perform CPR on the man for around an hour and a half in what were challenging and dangerous circumstances

“By now, the tide was beginning to come in, and the surrounding rocks were starting to get extremely slippy and hazardous as the sea lashed around them.

“However, our courageous officers refused to give up on the man and continued in the freezing cold until the helicopter could winch him to the top of the cliffs.

“Our officers were told by the Coastguards that it was too dangerous for them to scale the cliff using the rope, so they too were eventually winched off the rocks.

“Unfortunately, the injuries from the fall proved too severe for the man, and he sadly later passed away. Our thoughts continue to be with his loved ones.”


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Alex
Written by

Alex Glenn

Originally from the UK, Alex is based in Almeria and is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com.

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