Woman airlifted to hospital after falling 30ft at Shippersea Bay near Horden

Coastguard rescue teams were called to an incident at 10.37am this morning, Saturday, November 2, to reports that a woman had fallen from height onto the beach at Shippersea Bay near Horden.

The female is said to have slipped on a cliff pathway while out walking and fallen down to the bay below.

Seaham and Hartlepool Coastguard Rescue Teams were at the scene, along with Hartlepool RNLI inshore rescue boat.

North East Ambulance Service were called to the scene but were unable to access the woman due to her location.

The woman has now been airlifted to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough by the Coastguard Rescue Helicopter, with a suspected spinal injury.

A spokesperson for Humber Coastguard said: “We were called to an incident at Shippersea Beach, Horden at 10.37am this morning.

“A person had fallen from a height after slipping on a pathway on the cliff down to the bay and required medical attention and extraction to hospital.

“The lady was winched by helicopter and taken to James Cook Hospital, with a possible back injury.

“Coastguard Rescue Teams from Seaham and Hartlepool, including the Coastguard Rescue Helicopter, attended the scene, as well as the Hartlepool RNLI inshore rescue boat and staff from North East Ambulance service.”

A spokesperson for North East Ambulance service said: “We were called to an incident at 10.39am to reports of a person having fallen approximately 30ft onto the beach at Shippersea Bay. We activated our hazard response team but due to the difficulty accessing the location of the patient the Coastguard Rescue Helicopter attended and transported the patient to hospital.”

The Hartlepool inshore lifeboat and volunteer crew launched at 10.49am and two crew members administered first aid to woman.

Inshore lifeboat helm Darren Killick said: “Two of the crew went ashore to administer first aid and due to the location of the casualty and the suspected injuries it was decided the appropriate method of extraction was by helicopter.

“This is a typical scenario we regularly train for and it was also good to work alongside our local Coastguard teams.”