Boys rescued from Priory cliffs

The boys had been stuck on the cliff for about an hour

Two teenagers were rescued after becoming stranded on cliffs on the North East coast.

The boys, aged 14 and 15, were spotted 30ft (9m) up the north side of Tynemouth Priory by police community support officers on Wednesday evening.

One member of Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade and two firefighters from the Tyne and Wear brigade were lowered over the side of the Priory to reach them.

Both were unharmed, and were given a "strict safety talk", said rescuers.

The boys, who had been stuck on the cliff for about an hour, were taken home by Northumbria Police.

It came just two hours after the volunteer life brigade, a shore-based rescue service, was called to help recover a boy from the sea off Souter Lighthouse, near South Shields.

The youngster was taken to South Tyneside District Hospital, but later died.