A group of 10 German teenagers in danger of being completely cut off by the tide have been rescued by Walmer lifeboat.

Dover coastguard asked the volunteer lifeboat crew to head out after reports that the children were in danger from drowning in the incoming tide between St Margaret's Bay and Dover.

The D-class lifeboat Duggie Rodbard 11 was launched at 11am to meet a commercial RIB (rigid-inflatable boat)pilot who had picked up the children and the lifeboat took them safely back to St Margaret’s.

The rescue echoes a similar incident just weeks ago when a group of children were cut off by the tide, and has prompted fresh calls from the RNLI’s Respect the Water campaign.

Walmer RNLI helmsman Brad Rebbeck said: “When we arrived we found the pilot of a RIB had picked up a group of ten children who had been sat on rocks between St Margaret’s Bay and Dover as the tide was rapidly coming in. Apparently the children were school friends and their teacher had called the coastguard to ask for assistance.

“We understand they had been playing on the beach and the rocks when the tide started coming in a lot faster than they thought it would, effectively cutting them off.

"Incidents like this highlight how easy it can be to get cut off by the tide whilst out walking. It’s easy to get caught out by unexpected tides and waves" - Guy Addington, RNLI

“There were three boys, and seven girls, all aged around 14-15 years. When we started chatting to them, we realised they were German, and were visiting the UK on a school trip. We transferred them from the RIB onto the lifeboat and took them back to St Margaret’s Bay to the teacher.”“

Mr Rebbeck added that the language barrier made it difficult to determine if they had seen the signs warning them about the potential dangers of tides.

The rescue has prompted the RNLI to reiterate the safety messages of its Respect the Water campaign, in its aim to halve the number of accidental drowning’s around the UK by 2024.

Guy Addington, RNLI community incident reduction manager, said: “I’m pleased these children were recovered safe and well before any harm came to them. The RNLI will always launch to people in distress, whatever the reason, but we are trying to encourage people to do everything in their power to prevent getting into danger in the first place.

“Incidents like this highlight how easy it can be to get cut off by the tide whilst out walking. It’s easy to get caught out by unexpected tides and waves.

"We encourage people to keep themselves safe and treat water with respect by staying away from cliff edges and areas prone to cliff falls, by sticking to marked paths and by checking local hazards and safety information, such as tide times, before setting out.”

For more information visit rnli.org.uk/respectthewater