Warning after rock diving death

The men had been jumping from rocks into the sea

The coastguard has issued a warning about an activity which claimed the life of a young man on the north Antrim coast at the weekend.

Adam Pollock, 31, from Ballymena Road in Ballymoney, died after diving from rocks at Dunluce Castle, close to Portrush, on Saturday.

Two other men were pulled from the water. It is believed a huge wave dragged them out to sea.

A post mortem examination is to be carried out later on Monday.

The 12-year-old sister of one of the men had been planning to jump into the water but changed her mind at the last minute.

She was on the rocks and could use her mobile phone to call for help for the men, who were all wearing wet suits except Mr Pollock.

Members of the coastguard in Belfast and Ballycastle and the Royal Navy were involved in the search operation.

The problem with it is that it's extremely dangerous when there's any sort of swell at all Christopher Little Coastguard

The crew of Portrush Lifeboat rescued the three men, while the girl was winched to safety by a helicopter deployed from Prestwick in Scotland.

They were taken to the Causeway hospital in Coleraine to be treated for shock and hypothermia. However, Mr Pollock was dead on arrival.

Locally known as "tombstoning," diving off rocks and cliff faces is growing in popularity at the beauty spot, but the coastguard has warned against it.

Christopher Little, a station officer with Portrush coastguard, said it is very dangerous to jump from the rocks.

He said it was at least the fifth such incident they had dealt with in recent years, but, by far, the most serious.

"The problem with it is that it's extremely dangerous when there's any sort of swell at all," he told BBC Radio Ulster on Monday.

"It's an activity which has a high degree of risk at the best of times, but really should only be carried out when there are calm conditions."