Six young people were rescued by the crew of a Belgian helicopter after becoming trapped near Dover Harbour.

The alarm was raised at 3.45pm yesterday when the five boys and one girl discovered they had been cut off by the rising tide.

The youngsters, aged 15 to 19 from Dover and Elvington, had parked at Langdon Cliffs and walked down Langdon Steps to the foreshore.

They decided to walk along to look at some caves, but when they wanted to return, the path was covered by water.

They climbed up onto rocks to keep clear of the water and used a mobile phone to call the Coastguard for help.

Audio: Dover Coastguard watch manager Frank O'Neill

Dover lifeboat was launched and the Deal, Langdon and Folkestone Coastguard teams were sent to the scene.

Plans to rescue them by boat had to be abandoned because the land they needed to cross was unstable, and the boat was moving around.

The lifeboat Coxswain and Coastguards decided a helicopter was needed, and the only one available was from Belgium.

It flew across and winched the youngsters to safety, landing them at the Coastguard station.

“They were given safety advice and they were all sorry for the trouble they had caused,” said a Coastguard spokesman.

The incident finished at 6.30pm.