This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Emergency services have rescued a man who became trapped by rocks in the sea off the Norfolk coast.

The man could not free himself and was left at the mercy of fierce waves after his leg became stuck under the rocks near the East Promenade in Sheringham on Sunday afternoon.

The man spent nearly four hours in the sea, with fire officers having to cut through the rocks to rescue him and finally freeing him soon after the sun had gone down.

A Coastguard spokesperson said that the man had been reaching for his child when he slipped and got his leg stuck.

Coastguards, police, firefighters and the ambulance service were all at the scene. A rescue team helped to reassure the man and held his head above the water. He was also given a life-jacket and breathing apparatus.

Zach Pedley from HM Coastguard said it was a “very frightening experience” for the man.

Stuart Facey, a retired Sheringham coastguard station manager, told the North Norfolk News he was walking his dog in the area when the coastguard arrived.

He said: “It was high tide and water was coming over him so it was a very scary situation.”

Facey said people should stay away from the rocks and added: “The problem is that even if you are able to move a rock to free someone who is stuck, another can fall into its place – it can be a life or death situation.”

A 999 call came in to emergency services just after 5.30pm. The coastguard posted on Twitter that he was freed at 9.16pm.

Sam Stockdale, senior maritime operations officer at HM Coastguard, said: “We often talk about how training matters between the various frontline responders and today has shown just why it does.

“Everyone worked together on scene to look after the man and also to free him as soon as was practically possible.”

The rescued man was assisted by paramedics after being freed.