What began as a romantic evening meal at Milford-on-sea on 14 February 2014 quickly took a terrifying turn, as winds exceeding 80mph trapped terrified diners at the town’s beachfront café.
The forceful storm whipped up enormous waves and pelting shingle and debris, which devastated the diner, transforming a cosy Valentine’s dinner into a chaotic and destructive scene that called for a full-scale response from emergency services.
While diners watched fierce waves climbing the pebble beach beside them, they were not prepared for what happened next, as waters suddenly and unexpectedly surged beyond sea defences, smashing through the restaurant’s windows in a hail of glass, stones and water.
Staff hurried guests to the restaurant’s upper floors, but the storm intensified and the building’s structure began to groan amid extreme, powerful flurries of seawater.
With 32 people trapped inside, Lymington Coastguard Rescue Team was called into action, along with the Police, Army and Fire Service, who battled harsh conditions to reach the exposed coastal location.
Paul Richman was Deputy Station Officer for Lymington Coastguard Rescue Team at the time. He said: “The restaurant was located on the shoreline at a pinch point where waves converged from all directions. When we arrived, it was being hit very hard by everything from waves, gas bottles and canisters to shingle and debris.”
Parked cars had blocked the single access road, so Coastguards were transported by the military in an eight-wheel drive armoured personnel vehicle, where they worked together to extricate casualties amid the thrashing torrent of seawater, spray and debris.
Paul, who is now Station Officer for the Lymington team, added: “The army had to drive over shingle and damaged vehicles to reach the restaurant’s car park, but it was just too dangerous to exit.
“We moved right up to the building’s back door where we could climb in from the back of the vehicle without being swept away.”
The concrete floor of the restaurant had been lifted by waves lapping under it and Paul’s team were unsure of the integrity of the building. When they reached diners on the first floor of the restaurant, the upstairs windows blew out, and storm debris rained in.
He said: “We located all casualties and protected them, forming a human chain to load them into the truck. The whole thing was such a shock when we arrived, but we didn’t really have time to think about it.
“Communications were very difficult; there was so much noise it was difficult to speak. The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre Ops Room kept an open radio channel with us so they could keep a constant watch on us. It was reassuring to know there was someone there watching out for us, ready to action whatever we needed.”
More than £100,000 worth of damage had been done to the restaurant, with surrounding beach huts and vehicles destroyed, but despite the conditions, diners and staff had fortunately been left uninjured.
Locally, the audacious rescue continues to be a great source of pride for Paul’s team, their station and the local community. He said: “At the end of the incident, we all had a big shared debrief, and I was very proud of my team.
“Everyone just came together with very little discussion and we just got on. We knew what we were doing and felt very capable – it was a really, really good rescue.”
