Shropshire Star

Shropshire cliff rescue heroes strike up friendship

Two strangers have become unlikely friends after they came to the aid of a young girl stuck on a cliff in a Bank Holiday weekend seaside drama.

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Tony Roberts, from Shrewsbury, and Mark Weaver, from Telford, were both on holiday with their families when they saw the girl trapped at Clarach Bay Beach on the Welsh coast.

Mr Weaver, from Aqueduct, said he was enjoying an after-dinner walk with his family when he came across the scene on Saturday.

A woman approached Mr Weaver saying a little girl had fallen down the cliff. When he looked, he saw the young girl trapped half way up the cliff, with a man standing near her. Without giving it another thought he climbed up the side of the cliff to help get her down.

"I was with my two daughters and my wife, just having a stroll on the beach," he said. "Then a woman came over to us saying a girl was trapped on the cliff after falling.

"I'm not sure if she was climbing when she fell or if she was at the top and slipped, landing where she did, but she was very frightened and a bit shaken.

"Before I had time to think I started climbing the cliff to try and get her down, but once I got there I realised it was too dangerous to climb back down.

"A man was already there when I reached the girl and I thought it was her dad at first, but it turned out to be another Good Samaritan."

He added: "She was just frozen, we needed to calm her down so we started talking about anything that came to mind.

"That's when I discovered the guy who was there with me wasn't her dad but another member of the public who also came to her rescue. While we were talking I discovered he was from Shrewsbury, and I thought 'what a small world, he's not far from me'.

"He kept saying to me 'I know your face and your accent' but I honestly can't place him."

Mr Weaver was staying at the caravan he owns in Clarach, where he goes with wife Kerry and daughters Sophie, 13, and Lily, 10. The 46-year-old, who works for a recycling company, said once all three of them were rescued the girl's parents called the pair heroes and couldn't thank them enough.

"Her family gave me a big hug which was lovely and they called me a hero, which was quite emotional," he said.

"My daughters have been calling me a hero ever since it happened, which is very strange. But me and Tony just did what we could to make the girl smile and calm her down, I am really proud of what we did though."

The two men agreed to met up and have a drink before Mr Weaver and his family return home today.

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