BUDE Coastguard, RNLI lifeguard and lifeboat teams were quick to respond when two men in their 20s were cut off by the tide while fishing from rocks on Sunday afternoon.

A rescue water craft (jet ski) and the inshore lifeboat were called to the scene and stood by as the casualties were airlifted to safety by helicopter.

The alarm was raised late in the afternoon when the rising tide trapped the two men, from Bude, on rocks at Upton, half way between Bude and Widemouth.

Bude Coastguard co-ordinated the rescue throughout and RNLI lifeguard Dan Bentley responded immediately on a rescue water craft, stopping only to collect his off duty colleague Mini Fry who was surfing nearby. The Bude inshore lifeboat was also launched.

When the RNLI lifeguards arrived on scene they assessed the situation and reported to the coastguard who scrambled a helicopter from RAF Chivenor to airlift the men as the tide was still rising.

Meanwhile Dan swam to the rocks to explain to the fishermen what was going to happen. The volunteer crew of the inshore lifeboat stood by as a precaution during the winching operation.

Once the men had been airlifted to the cliff top where a local coastguard unit were waiting, the lifeguards recovered the fishing gear from the rocks.

Mini, who is RNLI Lifeguard Supervisor for Bude, said the two men were fortunate but the incident could have been prevented. "These men were lucky because though it was windy, there wasn't a huge swell running. However, they could have avoided all this by following a few simple rules like always checking the tide times before going to the coast, asking for local advice and choosing a safe place to fish where there is a sensible route out if the tide begins to rise."