A STUDENT fell off a 60-foot cliff on a geography excursion while a friend took a photo of him.
The 15-year-old was enjoying some “down time” during the school trip to Old Harry Rocks in Studland, Dorset, when he “disappeared” over the edge.
Coast Guard said it was a “miracle” that he wasn’t seriously injured in yesterday afternoon’s fall.
He fell onto gravel and several rescue teams were sent to the scene.
But the boy only suffered a small cut on his head and some scratches on his back.
After a thorough assessment, the student was released back to his group after receiving some safety advice about his actions.
Ian Brown, Swanage Coastguard officer, said: “Students have been advised not to go near the cliff edge.
“But it looks like the group was having some downtime and one guy wanted a photo taken by his friend near the cliff edge.
“He went there and then his friends said they saw him ‘disappear over the edge’.
“I would be surprised if he wasn’t a little sore today, but everyone was absolutely surprised that he didn’t suffer any serious injuries.
“It’s this safety message we want to get across – please stay away from cliff edges.
“When we say don’t go near the edge of the cliff, we mean don’t get five meters away – don’t be tempted to get close to it.
“I want to share a final thank you to everyone who came out yesterday – from the local kayaking group to all the emergency services.
“I’ve been doing this for 34 years and we’ve had some miracles – this is certainly one of them.”
Lifeboat crews arrived to find the young man being attended to by a local kayak company who were passing through the water and stopped to help.
An HM Coastguard spokesperson said: “The alarm was raised at around 1.45pm on 20 June.
“The boy was recovered safely from the beach by the Swanage RNLI inshore lifeboat and handed over to the care of the South West Ambulance Service.”
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