A 13-year-old Accrington boy was pulled to safety by a coastguard helicopter during a dramatic cliff-top rescue in Devon.

The boy was playing with two Haslingden brothers aged 17 and 12 last night when an incoming tide trapped him on a dangerous cliff.

It is believed the boy, who has not been named, scrambled up the cliff to escape the rapidly approaching sea water that threatened to engulf him.

He was found clinging to a tree root at Sandy Bay near Exmouth by coastguard officers who lifted him to safety.

Two members of Exmouth Coastguard Rescue Team were forced to hack their way through 20 metres of scrub and gorse to get to the boy and secure him before a helicopter dropped off another team member to winch him to safety.

He was winched to a nearby gully where he was met by coastguards, police and ambulance crews at about 8pm.

Police said the 17-year-old jumped into the sea and swam to safety while the 12-year-old fell and broke his arm in two places. He also sustained a broken ankle and severe bruising.

The injured boy was taken to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital and the other two were returned to their parents. All three were said to be staying at the Devoncliffs caravan holiday park, said a Devon and Cornwall Police spokesman. Tom Cassidy, a spokesman for Devoncliffs, said the cliffs were fenced off and several warning signs were in place. He added: "The boys climbed over the fence and ignored the warning signs.

"There is a big military base next to the site which means people are not allowed to go there because of security and the danger involved."

A police spokesman said incidents with holidaymakers getting into trouble on the cliffs were common in that part of Devon. "That's why the coastguard has a cliff-top rescue team," the spokesman added. " Holidaymakers do not always understand the dangers of tides and climbing cliffs."

Sarah Marquiss, a mother of two who has owned a caravan at Devoncliffs for two years, said: "Most of the coast area is fenced off. I can't imagine where they would get over, unless they were mucking about."

Managers at Devoncliffs said police were interviewing the boys about the incident, and that the families planned to continue with the remainder of their holidays.