Tragedy at Marsden as man's body is found at the foot of cliffs calls of concern for his welfare
A man’s body was found at the foot of cliffs at Marsden Grotto in South Shields in the early hours of today after concerns were raised with the emergency services.
Northumbria Police, the North East Ambulance Service, the South Shields Volunteer Life Brigade (SSVLB) and Sunderland Coastguard Rescue Team were alerted by calls at around 1am today, Monday, February 24.
A police spokesperson said: “Shortly after 1.15am today we were alerted by the ambulance service to a man in distress on the cliffs at Marsden Grotto, South Shields.
“Officers attended and sadly found the body of a man at the foot of the cliffs.
“He was pronounced dead at the scene and his next of kin have been notified.
“His death is currently being treated as non-suspicious and a report will be made for the coroner.”
The ambulance service confirmed it received a call at 1.08am today to a report of a person at the cliffs in Marsden.
It dispatched a double-crewed ambulance, a specialist paramedic and three of its Hazardous Area Response Teams (Hart) as well as a doctor from the Great North Air Ambulance to the scene.
Earlier today, the SSVLB and the Coastguard teams confirmed they had been asked to attend a “coastal incident” at Marsden as part of a multi-agency response, but added no further information was available on the call-out.
The Coastguard has issued a reminder and asked anyone reporting a coastal emergency to call 999 and ask for its service.