A boy had to be rescued after becoming stuck on a cliff above a 39ft drop in Laxey Bay.

The Isle of Man Coastguard said its Marine Operations Centre based at the Sea Terminal in Douglas received a 999 call about the incident at 2pm on Bank Holiday Monday.

The boy was reported to be stuck on the cliff and in danger of falling but had somehow managed to hold on to a gorse bush above a drop of around 39ft (approximately 12 metres).

The Coastguard Duty Officer and Douglas Coastguard Rescue Team were sent to the scene, arriving 14 minutes later.

In a statement issued online, Isle of Man Coastguard said that after assessing the options for rescuing the boy, and with no immediate access available from above, assistance was requested from the Isle of Man Fire and Rescue Service's Laxey crew.

The Coastguard said using the fire crew's ladder was considered the quickest and safest option given the time-critical nature of the incident.

While waiting for firefighters to arrive, coastguard personnel placed various items at the bottom of the cliff to provide a cushion in case the boy fell.

Isle of Man Fire and Rescue staff from Laxey arrived at the scene a short time later and worked with the coastguard to position a ladder against the cliff.

A member of the fire crew then climbed the ladder and accompanied the boy back down to safety.

The Isle of Man Coastguard thanked both teams for their response, saying: ‘Our thanks to the Laxey Fire crew & Douglas Coastguard Team for their quick, professional response and the excellent teamwork to safely resolve the incident together.’