Pub helps save tourists stranded on cliff

A pub came to the rescue of two Frenchmen and their dog who were stranded on a Cornwall cliff.

Sue Sleight, manager of St Austell pub, the Port William Inn in Tintagel, Cornwall, took the panicked phone call from one of the men.

The group were unaware of the emergency numbers in the UK so decided to ring directory enquiries to ask for the number of the pub they had passed earlier that day.

But their rescue was almost scuppered by the language barrier.

Sue said: "He was French so I found it difficult to understand what he was saying. At first I thought he was just looking for directions but then I realised they were stuck."

Sue and her husband Larry then braved the stormy weather to have a look for them but were unable to pinpoint their exact location so they contacted the coastguard.

After searching the cliffs near Trebarwith Strand, the coastguard rescue team found the men, aged 21 and 35, along with their dog. A crowd of regulars gathered outside the pub with their pints to watch the rescue.

According to Sue, the men were extremely lucky to have been able to get a signal and ring the pub in such poor weather.

"If they had failed to get through to us they would have been stranded for about 12 hours," she said. "It was very stormy and the waves were really crashing against the cliffs. They could have been swept away."

Sue believes the welcoming face of the Port William played a key role in delivering the group to safety.

"It is a nice and friendly pub. They obviously got the idea it was a place they could get some help when they passed it."