Police are urging teenagers to be cautious when camping this summer after two boys fell from a cliff edge in North Berwick.
Officers were called to the Tantallon Terrace/Haugh Road area around 12.30am on Wednesday 18th July following a report than two males, aged 16 and 17, had fallen approximately 25ft.
The 16-year-old had accidentally fallen from the cliff edge onto rocks below and, when his friends went to help him, a 17-year-old also fell.
The Scottish Ambulance Service were then called and contacted Police Scotland, the Scottish Fire & Rescue Service, North Berwick Coastguard and North Berwick RNLI.
When emergency services reached them, the 16-year-old was found unconscious with serious head injuries.
Due to the location of the fall and as it was unsafe to carry the teenager to an ambulance in his condition, it took around two hours to get him to the Royal Infirmary Edinburgh by helicopter.
The 17-year-old sustained serious injuries to his arm and shoulder and was taken to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary by ambulance.
Chief Inspector Steven Duncan, Area Commander for East Lothian, said: “It’s completely understandable that, with the warm weather here and the summer holiday’s upon us, our young people will want to enjoy their freedom.
“However, I cannot emphasise strongly enough the need to do this safely. Walking near cliff edges in the dark is hugely dangerous. If you are injured, it requires a significant emergency service response to locate you and it takes longer to get you to hospital for treatment.
“This was a very distressing incident for the five other male and female youths that the two boys were camping with, who saw their friends fall from a cliff edge, and for their parents who were told in the night that their sons had been seriously hurt.
“The message to our young people, in particular, is simple – if you are near a cliff edge or water then you must be cautious at all times. Your safety should always be your number one priority.”
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
