Swanage Lifeboat crew rescues woman injured while coasteering at Dancing Ledge

A young woman who was left in considerable pain after being injured while coasteering at Dancing Ledge, south of Langton Matravers, has been rescued by Swanage Lifeboat crew and the volunteers from St Albans and Swanage Coastguard.

The outdoor adrenaline activity, coasteering is when people jump into the sea and climb along the rocks.

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Both Swanage Lifeboats were launched at 11.16 am on Saturday 29th August 2020 and arrived on the scene at the same time as the coastguards.

The injured woman was on a ledge at sea level, just west of Dancing Ledge. A crew member from the inshore lifeboat went ashore to help the casualty and make an initial assessment.

Dancing Ledge viewed from the sea
Caroline Abbot

Dancing Ledge is a popular location for rock climbing and coasteering

The person was in considerable agony

As she was in considerable agony, pain-relieving gas was fetched from the all-weather lifeboat and given to the casualty.

Swanage Lifeboat Station reported:

“An extraction by sea was deemed the safest and simplest option, so the casualty and another member of the party were taken via inshore lifeboat to the all-weather lifeboat and a steady trip back to Swanage began.

“When in Swanage, the casualty was placed into the care of Dorset Ambulance paramedics and taken to Poole.”

Dancing Ledge, along the Jurassic Coast is a popular place for rock climbing and coasteering. The area is owned by the National Trust and coasteering is only permitted in organised groups.

In May 2019, a 49 year old man died while coasteering at Dancing Ledge. He was on holiday with his family at the time.

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