A multi-agency rescue operation took place off Cardigan Bay on Wednesday night after a man became stuck on the cliffs above Penbryn beach.

Lifeboat and coastguard crews were alerted by Milford Haven coastguards just before 7.30pm that the man had become trapped in dense undergrowth on the clifftop close to Penbryn Beach.  Penbryn is situated just over three miles north of Aberporth on the Ceredigion coast.

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Coastguard teams had already begun searching for the casualty, but the dense underground and fading light prevented him from being found.

“This was when we were tasked by the Milford Haven coastguard to provide illumination to try and locate him,” commented a spokesperson for New Quay RNLI.

New Quay used their new Shannon class lifeboat for the operation - the Roy Barker V – and its powerful searchlight enabled them to locate the missing person.

“It was impossible for us to reach him, so the Coastguard helicopter Rescue 187 was called out and they managed to winch the casualty on board and fly him back to a nearby landing site which had been prepared by the coastguards,” continued the New Quay lifeboat crew member.

“Fortunately, he was uninjured so was transported back to his vehicle safely.

“This really was a tremendous multi-agency tasking operation but was also the very first one under the belt for Roy Barker V.”

The Roy Barker V arrived at New Quay earlier this summer following a hard-fought campaign to retain an all-weather lifeboat at the station. The £2.5m Shannon Class now serves one of the largest sections of the West Wales coast, extending from Barmouth right down to Fishguard.