Un-fucking believable. Seriously a chap throws thoughts of his own life aside and saves someone else and gets fired.
When coastguard Paul Waugh carried out a daring clifftop rescue to save a 13-year-old girl's life he was hailed as a hero and honoured with bravery awards.
But bosses at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency were not so impressed with the lifesaver's actions because he ignored health and safety rules by not using safety equipment and following correct procedures.
Far from heaping praise on the dedicated volunteer, Mr Waugh said he has been put under "immense pressure" from management and treated terribly.
Now, a year after risking his own life to save the teenager, the 44-year-old has announced that he has been forced to quit the job after 13 years dedicated service.
Mr Waugh, of Skelton Green, East Cleveland, said: "The way I have been treated is terrible. I loved that job and I am absolutely gutted that I am leaving.
"A girl's life was in imminent danger and I did what I had to to save her life. Saving that girl was all that mattered, the cliff edge was crumbling and it was a 300 foot drop down.
**After all this is what we as a nation have sunk to a place where procedure is all, where tick boxes and risk assessments come first, where any display of self will, free thought and self determination is crushed by petty minded wankers. They even admit as much here:
"But my bosses didn't see it that way - they said I should have waited for support and safety equipment. They criticised me and even said I was under investigation, but I didn't have time to wait for back up.
"I never thought I could get into trouble for just doing my job and what I thought was right. I couldn't have lived with myself if I had waited any longer and she had fallen to her death."
Mr Waugh, who has also won an award for his selfless charity fundraising work, added: "I thought I would be a coastguard for life, but I couldn't carry on being treated so badly.
"I loved doing it but now I have a bitter taste about it all."
The decision has caused outrage in a coastal community where Mr Waugh is regarded as a true hero.
But the coastguard has defended its hard-line attitude towards the volunteer lifesaver with the comment that they are "not looking for dead heroes".
**Just people who follow procedure.
The incident happened on 14 January last year when schoolgirl Faye Harrison, 13, and three friends were out walking and clambered down cliffs to get to the beach.
They found themselves trapped as darkness set in and Faye tried to climb back up to get help.
She became trapped on a cliff ledge which began to crumble and was left clinging for her life, holding on to tufts of grass.
The other girls managed to alert a fisherman who dialled 999 and the Skinningrove coastguard team were despatched to the scene.
Realising the urgency of the situation, Mr Waugh inched his way down to Faye without using ropes or a harness.
By the time he reached her, she had been stranded for 45 minutes and had been mentally planning her own funeral.
He put his arms around her to reassure her she would not fall and after a further 30 minutes the teenager was winched to safety by a rescue helicopter.
Ironically, it was the second time Mr Waugh had saved Faye. The year before she became trapped by the tide while out with her cousins on a beach.
The schoolgirl of Saltburn-by-the-Sea, now 14, has been left furious about Mr Waugh's plight.
She said: "I am disgusted by the way Paul has been treated. If he hadn't been brave enough to climb down to me I don't think I would be here today. Paul is a hero."
Mr Waugh, who is married to Sue, 40, and has three children, Laura, 17, Sally, 16, and Rosie, eight, was named Hero of the Year after the daring rescue, won a Vodafone lifesaver award and was nominated for another award run by a national newspaper.
He is also a carer for his wife who has a neurological disease.
A spokesman for the coastguard agency said: "We wish Paul well in his future endeavours and the MCA is very grateful for his past activities and work in the Coastguard Rescue Service.
"However, the MCA is very mindful of health and safety regulations which are in place for very good reasons.
"Above all our responsibility is to maintain the health and welfare of those who we sometimes ask to go out in difficult and challenging conditions to effect rescues.
"The MCA is not looking for dead heroes. As such, we ask our volunteers to risk assess the situations they and the injured or distressed person find themselves in, and to ensure that whatever action they take does not put anyone in further danger.
"We are proud of our safety record and we will seek to maintain the safety of our volunteers, and minimise risk in what can be inherently difficult situations."
Ten years or fifteen years ago this story would have made the tv, been splashed all over the front pages of the papers and there would have been comments from government ministers and questions in the House of Commons.
Today, one piece in the Daily Mail.
Says a lot about how people expect the state to run all, provide all and how in turn the populace have become in the main mindless sheep fed their thoughts from the nanny state.Oh and please remember the next time you are in danger, please wait whilst the emergency services carry out a risk assessment before coming to save your life.
Tags: New Labour, Paul Waugh, Cool Britannia, Maritime and Coastguard Agency
5 people have spoken:
There are 2 sides to every story, and I dont think that this one is the fault of the MCA.
If he didnt have the safety gear, and one or both of them died, what would you say then?
One of the golden rules in SAR is don't put yourself in situations where you may end up being ANOTHER casualty for someone else to rescue.
There are unfortunately far too many people who are dead because they didn't follow this rule.
Sad but true.
You fool, this was a petrified 13 year old girl! Put yourself in Mr Waugh's position; would you be willing to wait for the safety gear? When you are confident in your abilities and don't need patronising by the nanny state?
Jesus Christ get some common sense!
As already said there are always 2 sides to every story. what is not reported in this blog is that Mr Waugh had equipment when he arrived but did not bother to carry it from the vehicle which was a field away. In setting up the equipment he would only have delayed his getting down to the girl by 2-3 minutes. By not taking he equipment down to the girl he had no way to stabalise her on the crumbling cliff. Given that the cliff crumbling was quoted as his main concern the last thing you want to do is place someone else unsupported on the cliff. Had he taken the appropriate equipment she could have been recovered in just a few minutes instead of waiting another 30 minutes for the helicopter. She had been there for 45 minutes by the time he arrived so what was the rush. As one of the people who would have to tell both families of their deaths had it gone wrong I fully back what local investigation was carried out after this incident.
And by the way HE QUIT HE WAS NOT SACKED.
Heroes are great things, a hero with a harness on on a cliff top though has a greater chance of hearing so afterwards.
I don't disagree with what he did, it's human nature to help and I think many people would have done the same.
But, there is something very odd with story. Why has he suddenly quit a year after the event? His bosses have said he was not under any investigation. And he was not sacked, he quit during a radio interview without any notice being given to his bosses.
Sounds to me like 15 minutes of fame gone wrong.
Paul if your reading this... a huge BRAVO ZULU from the mariners at gCaptain. Keep your spirits up, the people who matter are eternily grateful.
Capt. John
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