HELENSBURGH'S coastguard rescue team (CRT) has warned young people of the dangers of 'tombstoning' after being called out to the Royal Northern and Clyde Yacht Club in Rhu on Sunday afternoon.

The team had just returned to Helensburgh after attending the rescue of a dog in the River Clyde at Old Kilpatrick when they were asked to attend the yacht club's premises following a report of a group of young people jumping off the pier.

The team said in a statement posted on Facebook: "Tombstoning is extremely dangerous. In our area you will mostly find people doing it off of piers.

"This is dangerous as the depth of the water can dramatically change with the tide.

"You don’t know what hazards may be lurking under the surface until you are hurt or worse. The shock of cold water may make it difficult to swim to safety and strong currents can quickly sweep people away.

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"If you do want to jump from height into the sea we would advise people join a coasteering group with a professional and reputable adventure centre."

Three people were reported to have been seriously hurt while 'tombstoning' off the 70-foot natural arch at Durdle Door, on the Dorset coast, on Saturday.

The call-out to Rhu came shortly after the Helensburgh team had been called, along with their colleagues from the Greenock CRT, to a stretch of the River Clyde near the Erskine Bridge, following a report of a person and a dog in the water.

Once at the scene, the rescuers discovered that the person had made it back to the shore, but the pet was still in the water.

A post on the Helensburgh CRT's Facebook page said: "While team members assessed the medical condition of the casualty, a senior coastal operations officer, along with Greenock CRT carried out the rescue of the dog to prevent anyone else endangering themselves to rescue the animal.

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"Both the casualty and dog are safe and well.

"We understand that dogs are members of the family, but please, do not enter the water to retrieve them. Dial 999 and ask for the coastguard."

Sunday's two incidents took the Helensburgh team's tally of call-outs to 38 so far this year.

The team carried out high visibility patrols along the Clyde last weekend in response to the easing of some lockdown restrictions and the warm weather, which brought an increase in visitor numbers.

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