A TEENAGER who sparked a rescue operation after becoming separated from his mother on a cliff edge has been found safe and well.

Staithes RNLI was alerted on Saturday afternoon after a mother feared her son had fallen over the cliff top between Staithes and Port Mulgrave, south of Saltburn on the North Yorkshire coast.

The pair had become separated on a new cliff edge section of the Cleveland Way which is unfenced and has sheer 200 feet drops.

Staithes and Runswick RNLI’s inshore lifeboat began the search in windy conditions and a crew member swam ashore to scramble along the rocks between Penny Nab and Old Nab to continue the search.

RNLI volunteers spent an hour searching the foreshore below the cliff, before the call came through that the 15-year old boy had returned safely to the family’s holiday cottage in Staithes.

"It was quite a tricky operation as it was windy and high tide", said Staithes deputy launch authority Sean Baxter. "We’re delighted that it was a happy outcome, but it's also a reminder that these cliffs are dangerous and everyone needs to be careful."