Urgent warning after schoolboy plunges 60ft off cliff as pal took picture

A teenager plunged 60ft off a cliff after going near to the edge while having his photograph taken by a friend. The 15-year-old was on a geography field trip in Dorset when he "disappeared" over the edge of the cliff.

Incredibly the schoolboy walked away with "minor injuries". However, coastguards say it is a"miracle" he wasn't badly hurt in the incident on Thursday.

Ian Brown, station officer for Swanage Coastguard, said: "The students had been briefed on not going near the cliff edge but it would appear the group were having some downtime and one lad wanted a photo taken by his friend near the cliff edge. He went towards it, and then his friends said they just saw him 'disappear over the edge'.

"I'd be surprised if he wasn't a bit sore today, but everyone was absolutely amazed he didn't have any major injuries. It's that safety message we want to raise - please stay away from cliff edges.

"When we say don't go near the cliff edge, we mean within five metres. Don't be tempted to even go near it."

Thanking those who helped in the rescue, he added: "I've been doing this for 34 years and we've had some miracles. This is certainly one of those."

The teenager survived after landing on shingle. Various rescue teams were scrambled to the scene at Old Harry Rocks in Studland - including Swanage and St Albans Coastguard teams, both Swanage RNLI Lifeboats, Dorset Police, South Western Ambulance, and a Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance Critical Care team.

Lifeboat crews arrived to find the young male being attended to by a local kayak company who had been passing on the water and stopped to help. He suffered a small cut to his head and some scratches on his back. After a thorough check, he was released back to his group - but also given some strong safety advice about his actions.

A HM Coastguard spokesperson said: "The alarm was raised at about 1.45pm on 20 June. The boy was recovered safe and well from the beach by the RNLI's inshore lifeboat from Swanage and passed into the care of South West Ambulance Service."