A DANGEROUS attempt to scale a 300ft cliff has been condemned by a lifeboat crew after the stunt turned a routine rescue into a life threatening incident.

A 36-year-old man was rescued by teams from Redcar Lifeboat Station when he became trapped by the rising tide at Huntcliffe, Saltburn, in east Cleveland.

A member of the public made an emergency call just after 7pm on Friday but when the crew arrived they could not see the man at the foot of the cliff, which is one of the highest in England.

The search between Saltburn and Skinningrove took an unexpected and dangerous turn when the crew spotted the man attempting to climb the unstable cliff.

Despite frantic efforts to coax the man down, he continued to scale the rock face and managed to reach 250ft.

Crew member Michael Picknett was forced to swim to shore in a desperate attempt to convince the man to climb down to safety.

The man eventually relented and the crew took him to safety at Saltburn beach.

Dave Cammish, of Redcar Lifeboat, said the man had a very fortunate escape.

"This man made a routine evacuation into a seriously life-threatening incident. Many people are rescued from the foot of the cliff, but few try to escape the tide by attempting to climb one of the highest cliffs in England.

"The last 50ft is an overhang and very unstable and even experienced mountaineers wouldn't risk a cliff like that."

He added: "It looked like this man was walking from Skinningrove to Saltburn but had been unable to go any further when the tide came in."

He warned other people to be aware of the dangerous nature of the tide around the cliffs and offered safety advice.

"Once the alarm has been raised, anyone trapped should assist the emergency services by waiting until help arrives, then doing what they are told.

"We have done this many times before and find it a big help if people do as we ask."