TWO heroic police officers were yesterday recognised for their bravery after they used an old fishing rope to scale 100 feet down a sheer cliff to rescue a man who had landed on the rocks below.

The incident, which happened on October 10 last year in Scarborough, saw PC Steve Merritt and PC Mandir Xherija administer emergency CPR to the man as the incoming tide began to rush in.

Read more: New temporary Bilsdale transmitter to be switched on in new year as final section in place

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

Given the location, PC Xherija was forced to park his patrol car far away from the scene, but he proceeded to sprint across neighbouring fields to get to the cliff edge as soon as possible.

Once he reached the cliff, he ventured out on a piece of the ridge which jutted out from the cliffside for a better view.

Thanks to this new vantage point he was able to make out what looked like the arm of a person between the rocks.

Mr Xherija then decided to use an old fishing rope embedded in the cliff to lower himself 100 feet down to the ground.

Once he was safely on the ground the officer found the man and began to perform CPR on him.

PC Merritt arrived on the scene at this stage, and also decided to use the fisherman’s rope to scale down the cliff.

Police say a coastguard helicopter was on the way, while the officers waited for it to arrive, they continued to perform CPR on the man for around an hour and a half in challenging circumstances.

The tide was soon beginning to come in and the surrounding rocks were becoming slippery and hazardous, however the officers continued to perform CPR until the helicopter was able to winch the man to the top of the cliff.

Read more: 26-year-old pervert who sexually assaulted two-year-old boy jailed for six years

PC Merritt and Xherija were told it was too dangerous to scale the cliff using the old fishing rope so were later winched off the rocks to safety.

Yesterday the two officers attended the National Police Bravery awards in London after being nominated by the North Yorkshire Police Federation for their bravery.

A total of 81 nominees from all 42 forces in England and Wales were nominated for this year’s awards which mark the 26th Police Bravery Awards.

PC Merritt and Pc Xherija, were outside Downing Street yesterday where they were joined by all the other nominees from across the country at the awards ceremony.

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said: “At the ceremony last night, their inspiration and dedication to duty was recognised in the presence of senior officials in government and policing.

“They, along with every other officer at the event, should all be incredibly proud of what they have been nominated or received an award for – as we are of them."

Read more: Farmer talks of losing hundreds after being forced to use generator after Storm Arwen

-----

Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can also follow our dedicated North Yorkshire Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.

For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.

Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 505054