EMERGENCY services won a race against time yesterday when they rescued an “unresponsive” woman cut off by a rising tide at the bottom of cliffs at Watchet’s Helwell Bay.

Three helicopters, coastguards, police, paramedics and two lifeboats were involved in the rescue. The woman was winched from the beach by a coastguard helicopter and taken to Musgrove Park Hospital in a serious condition.

A coastguard spokesman said: “As we were unable to access the beach due to the rising tide, a cliff rescue was required.

“Due to the immediacy of the situation and the fact that the area in which they were operating was fast going under water, the casualty was winched up by helicopter onto the cliff top.

“Here, coastguards were waiting, along with a critical care doctor and an ambulance.”

The spokesman said that two Minehead lifeboats and a Watchet sea scout safety boat arrived on the scene but were unable to land and offer assistance due to sea conditions and depth of water.

Coastguard cliff technicians managed to reach the casualty and were joined by paramedics from a Devon air ambulance.

The rising tide meant there was limited time to treat the casualty on the beach and second air ambulance which had arrived on the scene, stood by while a coastguard rescue helicopter from South Wales airlifted the woman to safety.

Coastguards later asked witnesses to the incident not to put video online and appealed for privacy for the casualty and her family.