Diver rescued after rapid ascent

Coastguards had to deal with several incidents in the bay at the weekend

A diver was airlifted to safety after making a rapid ascent from a depth of 28m (92ft) off the Dorset coast.

Coastguards were called to the dive boat Scimitar in Lyme Bay on Sunday after the 38-year-old showed symptoms of the bends.

The woman and her dive buddy were taken to the recompression chamber in Poole.

A Portland Coastguard spokeswoman said: "Such a rapid descent from a depth of 28m with no stops is very likely to result in decompression sickness."

The incident was one of several the coastguards were alerted to in Lyme Bay over the weekend.

On Saturday afternoon, two people were caught out by the rising tide and had to climb Church Cliffs near Lyme Regis to stay out of the water.

The Lyme Coastguard Rescue team and the Lyme RNLI Inshore Lifeboat were sent to the scene.

The lifeboat kept the climbers under observation while the coastguard team met them at the top of the cliff.