Dog dies after falling off cliff in East Lothian despite RNLI rescue mission as left owners 'distraught'

A dog has died after falling off a cliff in East Lothian despite a rescue mission launched by the RNLI to save the pet.

The alarm was raised at around 4pm on Monday, January 8 as HM Coastguard joined RNLI crews to respond to the incident at Winterfield Park in Dunbar.

The inshore lifeboat (ILB) was at the scene in minutes and crews were able to recover and reunite the pet with its owners, but the dog did not survive.

Adrian Lavery, ILB helm said: “This was a very unfortunate accident and our condolences go to the dog’s owners who were understandably distraught.”

Volunteer crews were alerted to a second incident at around 8.30pm the same night at Dunbar Harbour when a local trawler was taking on water and sinking.

The ILB launched minutes later after it was believed a creel was pulled up in error in its catch, which caused damage to the vessel’s wooden hull.

Rescue crews used a salvage pump to stop the trawler from sinking as volunteers remained on standby until after midnight for high water so that the boat could be moved to safety in the harbour.

Alan Blair, ILB helm, said: “Luckily, we had a salvage pump in the lifeboat station and were able to start pumping the water within minutes.”