Sunderland Coastguard Rescue Team reported that crews were called out just before 4.30pm on Christmas Day.
The team posted a photo of crews at cliffs in South Shields and said the incident was concluded successfully after around three hours.
In the post the Coastguard said: “The team couldn't escape a Christmas Day callout as we paged to assist Northumbria Police with an incident in South Shields with South Shields Volunteer Life Brigade (SSVLB) and the North East Ambulance Service.
“We deployed our rope rescue equipment and working with the police the incident was successfully concluded after nearly three hours.”