East Yorkshire Lord Lieutenant pledges to honour man that died at sea

Tributes are being paid to Mark Ratcliffe, who lost his life at sea while attempting to save 15-year-old Grace Keeling and her mother off the coast of Withernsea.

Mark died following his heroic efforts to help onlookers in a desperate situation which saw Grace go missing in the sea on Friday afternoon. Her search has now entered its sixth day.

The Lord Lieutenant for East Yorkshire, James Dick OBE, said there will be discussions on how to formally honour Mark's bravery in the near future.

“I think it's a overwhelmingly, desperately tragic situation. Three lives lost and I'd like to extend my heartfelt sympathies to the families concerned, their friends, and all those individuals who were concerned with it."

He continued:

"I also think it's a tragedy for the whole of the community of Withernsea, who I know have responded extremely well to the situation.

"I'd like to pay my own personal tribute to Mark Ratcliffe for his selfless act of bravery trying to save others. And sadly, that's cost him his own life.

"It's still very early days, but we will, of course, investigate the most appropriate way to recognise his selfless bravery, in whatever form that might take.”

The Withernsea community has come together following these devastating events, with support being extended to the bereaved families and those involved.

Chief Inspector Tom Stevens from Humberside Police, said:

“Our priority now is to find Grace, and we are doing everything we can to locate her. This includes extensive searches along the shoreline and drone searches from Withernsea to Easington directed by our specialist search teams. Our underwater search unit has also been in the area, and we have consulted with an oceanographer to ensure our searches are as efficient as possible.

“Throughout the week, members of the public should expect to see a continued police presence in the area, and we would ask people to avoid the location to allow emergency services to work efficiently and safely.

“Over the last five days we have been working to establish how the incident unfolded and understand the full circumstances of how Grace, Sarah and Mark came to be in the water.

“From trawling through CCTV and speaking to multiple witnesses who were in the area at the time, it is understood that Grace and her friend were on the steps near to the rocks when Grace is believed to have fallen into the water after being swept by a wave.