The belated arrival of summer has prompted warnings from emergency services after firefighters plucked an eight-year-old girl from a fast-flowing river in one of several water rescues.

The girl, who had gone paddling, and her grandmother were rescued from the River Ure, which was swelled by recent rainfall.

And the Coastguard was kept busy as tourists flocked to the east coast yesterday to take advantage of the long-awaited hot weather.

A family was stranded on the cliffs at Whitby and a series of inflatable dinghies were swept out to sea by the high winds.

At the River Ure, the eight-year-old was trapped on a rock on the far side of the river at Ripon, off Magdalen's Road, and, when fire crews arrived, they found her pensioner grandmother had attempted to wade into the river to rescue her. The grandmother then found herself in difficulty and was forced to cling to a tree.

Firefighter Ben Cairns was attached to a line and took a lifejacket to rescue her. He then waded back into the river to the girl and carried her to safety. Firefighter Phil Whild, of Ripon fire station, said: "Rivers must be considered as dangerous places at all times.

This time the girl and her grandmother were very fortunate, but our fear is that others may not be so lucky."

The Whitby lifeboat rescued a family left high and dry on the cliffs as the tide came in. The Bridlington Coastguard, lifeboat and rescue helicopter had to be dispatched when a woman on an inflatable dinghy was stranded off the south shore holiday village yesterday.

Weather forecasters said tomorrow would see patchy rain but the weekend looks set to be a scorcher, with clear blue skies and temperatures topping 26C.

see COMMENT 'Heed the warnings'

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