Two visitors who were rescued from the coast after being cut off by the tide apologised to the teams who came to their aid for the inconvenience.

The pair, from Birmingham, were among five people who became stuck in separate incidents near Charmouth on Easter Saturday.

Lyme Regis RNLI said the lifeboat was launched to assist coastguards ashore following reports of people cut off by the tide.

RNLI spokesman Seb Cope said: "The lifeboat crew launched at 1.30pm and were quickly on scene. The casualties were attempting to walk between Charmouth and Lyme Regis. One lifeboat crew member swam ashore and they were able to walk safely back to Charmouth.

"In addition, there were two people stuck in the shale mud landslides below the cliffs between Charmouth and Golden Cap. Another of the volunteer crew swam ashore to help. They waited for the lifeboat to return with additional crew and using the inflatable x-boat were able to ferry the casualties to the main lifeboat. They were then returned to Charmouth where they were greeted by the local coastguard team."

Two of the people rescued were from Birmingham visiting the area for the day.

One said: “We are so thankful to everyone involved with rescuing us today and we’re ever so sorry for the inconvenience.”

Nick Marks, Lifeboat Operations Manager, said: “We would encourage any visitor to the area to check tide times before walking along the beach, either at Lyme Regis Tourist Information Centre or Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre. This half term week the local area is experiencing very high tides, so it is very important to check.”

The rescue came after reports of a large rockfall at Charmouth on Good Friday.

A spokesman from Lyme Regis Coastguard said: “As the Easter holiday had started and the beach was busy, coastguards walked to the fall location to check that no persons were in danger or had been struck by the falling rocks.

“With no persons injured or in any immediate danger, the coastguards were stood down."

The spokesman added: “The cliff fall is a reminder that our beautiful cliffs are fragile and the warning signs for cliff falls are not decorative.

“Do not sit under the cliffs, keep children off the rock falls and mud slides, keep dogs on leads so that they do not go exploring, do not climb or go near the rockfalls for the sake of a ‘selfie’ – your life is worth more than a photo.”

For emergencies on the sea, cliff, river, mud, harbour and beach, call 999 and ask for the coastguard.