RARELY a day goes by in Dorset without the emergency services being scrambled to help people in difficulty along the coast.

So far this year the auxiliary coastguard team that cover the Weymouth area have seen a 25 per cent increase in jobs compared to the same period in 2006, and the signs are that this will be their busiest year ever.

One of the call-outs involved the team joining forces with firefighters for a cliff rescue.

Fortunately it was a training exercise and the injured casualty' lying at the bottom of Redcliff Point was a dummy.

As well as putting out fires and freeing people from wrecked cars, full-time firefighters based at Weymouth are experienced in water and rope rescues.

Because this side of their work mirrors coastguard operations, the two services have linked up to see what they can learn from each other.

While coastguards are the primary agency involved in cliff rescues it is acknowledged that Dorset Fire and Rescue Service can often provide additional manpower, equipment and expertise.

Similarly, the fire service can call upon the experience of the coastguard when they are alerted to inland incidents such as well, flood and quarry rescues.

Wyke Coastguard Rescue team station officer Malcolm Wright said his unit was among the first in the country to establish a structured programme with the fire service.

All four watches at the fire station have arranged training sessions with the coastguard to ensure they can work effectively together at incidents.

Mr Wright said there had been some anxieties by coastguards in different parts of the country about such partnerships.

But he added: "In Dorset we are taking the lead and embracing the partnership.

"The two agencies complement each other and for me it's not about who does the job but seeing the job gets done."

Manager of Weymouth Fire Station Angus Nairn said: "By working together as a team we can get the job done quicker and that has to be better for the casualty."