Dog walker is airlifted to safety after 30ft ravine fall in Saltburn (From The Northern Echo)

Dog walker is airlifted to safety after 30ft ravine fall in Saltburn

9:40am Wednesday 9th September 2009 in

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A WALKER sparked a two-hour rescue mission yesterday after falling 30ft down a ravine as he tried to save his dog.

The 35-year-old man, from Middlesbrough, was trying to reach his dog, who had fallen down an embankment next to Skelton Beck, Saltburn, east Cleveland, when he slipped.

The accident happened at about 10am.

See footage from the rescue.

The man, who hit a rock face before landing in the water, was able to call 999 from his mobile phone to say he was injured.

He told the emergency services he had hurt his back and was unable to move.

The Great North Air Ambulance, Cleveland Police, Cleveland Search and Rescue and the RAF were called to the scene.

It took rescuers nearly half an hour to locate the man because he was hidden by trees.

People gathered at the top of the embankment and watched as he was pulled out of the water. Medics had to walk along the beck carrying the man on a stretcher to find an opening in the trees to allow him to be winched up to the helicopter.

He was airlifted by a Sea King helicopter to The James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough.

A spokeswoman for the Great North Air Ambulance said: “The man was walking along the beck when the incident happened.

“He had fallen 30ft down onto a rock face and said he was immobilised when he called the emergency services.

The 35-year-old man received neck and pelvic injuries.

“He was conscious and talking when he was rescued.

His injuries are serious.

“He was quite hidden by the woods and in the water, so it took a while to locate him.

“The air ambulance could not get close enough, so he was rescued by the Sea King helicopter. It took more than two hours to rescue him.”

A police spokeswoman said: “We worked with the other organisations to ensure he was rescued safely.”