CLIFF RESCUE DRAMA

Southland Times, Issue 22378, 18 July 1934, Page 11

CLIFF RESCUE DRAMA

BOY IN DEADLY PERIL. Thousands of holiday-makers at Bournemouth lately saw a dramatic cliff rescue in which a boy and a boatman were the chief actors. Dennis Smith, aged 10, of Parkstone, was playing on the edge of the 140 ft. cliff near Alum Chine, when he overbalanced and dropped 20ft to a ledge. This broke his fall, but it crumpled and the boy rolled a further 40ft toward a precipice overlooking the promenade—a sheer drop of 80ft. There was a solitary crevice in the cliff, and in this the boy’s foot was caught. He lay there calling for help. Seizing a life line from a rack the boatman, Charles Cherry, raced up the cliff path. Making the rope fast to the railings, he threw the coil down the cliff, and went down hand over hand to the side of the terrified boy. Mr Cherry found Dennis only too ready to clamber on to his back, and having made the boy secure, he began his hazardous climb to the top. Foot by foot Mr Cherry edged his way up the cliff. There was a great cheer from the excited onlookers as the boatman hauled himself and the boy over the cliff top to safety.