Mother grabs boy from car as it hurtles towards a cliff

A young family arrived at the top of the dramatic cliffs at Lizard Point in Cornwall and parked among the other tourists there.

The parents got out of the Ford Ranger 4x4 they had borrowed from a friend - leaving their young sons playing inside - and began unpacking their picnic things.

That was the happy scene yesterday for Mark and Melanie Davis and their sons Jack and Keiran.

Within seconds, it was to turn to horror. Keiran apparently managed to release the handbrake and the car began to move towards the clifftop.

There were just ten yards of grassy slope between Jack, three, and five-year- old Keiran and certain death 250ft below.

Yet somehow Mrs Davis raced to their side, reaching in through the door and fighting with the straps and safety seats.

She pulled the boys to safety a split second before the pick-up plunged over the cliff. Then she collapsed, weeping and hugging her sons.

Last night police and coastguards paid tribute to the rapid reactions of the 31-year-old veterinary assistant from Charfield, near Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire.

Last night, a spokesman for Falmouth Coastguard said she and husband Mark, a 41-year-old garage assistant, and the boys were in shock though unhurt.

'As far as we know, the boys had been left unattended for just a few seconds when one of them managed to release the handbrake.

'The car must have been parked on a slope because it started to roll towards the edge at some speed and went over.

'This could have been a terrible tragedy but everybody is OK, which is a good ending.'

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The drama at Polpeor Cove happened at around 3.15pm yesterday.

Tourist Frederick Gaines, 56, from Wolverhampton, said: 'The girl turned and saw the pick-up was moving and rushed to open the door. There was a split second in it. Both the lads were tots but she grabbed the smaller first and then the other. She was struggling with what seemed to be safety seats and belts.

'Almost immediately the babies were clear the 4x4 toppled over the edge and slid down the cliff - it was like a movie scene.The mother was quite hysterical. She was hugging her children and crying. It really was a close call.'

Another tourist, 18-year- old Kim Turner, said: 'The young mum just kept hugging her son in the cafe. She was a bit hysterical at first but then calmed down. It is horrible to think what might have happened.'

An RNLI lifeboat was called out to recover the family's possessions from the shattered 4x4 before it was submerged by the incoming tide.

The coastguard spokesman added: 'We thought that might be easier than the cliff rescue team attempting to get the car back up the cliff.'