A HEROIC coastguard who risked his life to save a 13-year-old girl trapped on a cliff ledge has quit after bosses criticised him for breaching health and safety rules during the daring rescue.

Volunteer coastguard Paul Waugh, 44, climbed down a cliff without safety equipment in gale force winds to rescue Faye Harrison, 13, who had become trapped.

Mr Waugh, from Skelton Green, in East Cleveland, won a string of awards for his bravery last January.

But bosses at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said that Mr Waugh had breached health and safety regulations by not using safety equipment.

After 13 years of dedicated work as a volunteer coastguard Mr Waugh claims he was forced to quit the job after pressure from above.

Mr Waugh, who is married to Sue, 40, and has three children, Laura, 17, Sally, 16, and Rosie, eight, said: "The way I have been treated is terrible.

"I loved that job and I am absolutely gutted that I am leaving.

"A girl's life was in imminent danger and I did what I had to save her life.

"Saving that girl was all that mattered, the cliff edge was crumbling and it was a 300 foot drop down.

"But my bosses didn't see it that way - they said I should have waited for support and safety equipment.

"I never thought I could get into trouble for just doing my job and what I thought was right.

"I couldn't have lived with myself if I had waited any longer and she had fallen to her death."

Last week ex-miner Mr Waugh gave up as a volunteer and blamed "immense pressure" from management at Bridlington Coastguard.

As they awaited a helicopter and winch, Mr Waugh positioned himself with his arms around Faye so she would not fall over the 300ft drop and reassured her for 30 minutes.

Coastguards Eric Lorrains and Gordon Hogg were also involved in the rescue.

The drama began when Faye and three friends were taking a stroll along the cliff top near the old Fanhouse mine shaft, in Brotton, east Cleveland, on January 14 last year.

They began to follow a footpath winding down the cliff face when it suddenly stopped.

Because it was dark they became disorientated and too frightened to go back along the trail.

Faye decided to try and find a route off the cliff but she became trapped and a dogwalker phoned 999.

Faye and Paul were plucked from safety by an RAF rescue helicopter.

Coincidentally, it was the second time Mr Waugh had helped the teenager.

She was rescued by him last year when she became trapped by the tide.

Faye, now 14, from Saltburn-by-the-sea, East Cleveland, said: "I am disgusted by the way Paul has been treated.

"If he hadn't been brave enough to climb down to me I don't think I would be here today.

"I was terrified and started thinking about my funeral.

"Paul is a hero."

Last week Mr Waugh gave up as a volunteer and blamed he was put under "immense pressure" from management at Bridlington Coastguard.

Since his daring rescue Mr Waugh has been named Hero Of The Year, won a Vodafone lifesaver award and was nominated for the Beyond The Call of Duty Award - part of the Daily Mirror's Pride of Britain Awards.

A spokesman for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said: "We wish Paul well in his future endeavours and the MCA is very grateful for his past activities and work in the Coastguard Rescue Service.

"However, the MCA is very mindful of health and safety regulations which are in place for very good reasons.

"Above all our responsibility is to maintain the health and welfare of those who we sometimes ask to go out in difficult and challenging conditions to effect rescues.

"The MCA is not looking for dead heroes.

" As such we ask our volunteers to risk assess the situations they and the injured or distressed person find themselves in, and to ensure that whatever action they take does not put anyone in further danger.

"We are proud of our safety record and we will seek to maintain the safety of our volunteers, and minimise risk in what can be inherently difficult situations."

Paul, an avid charity fundraiser for Distonia, a neurological disease which his wife suffers from, added: "I thought I would be a coastguard for life but I couldn't carry on being treated so badly.

"I loved doing it but now I have a bitter taste about it all."