AN 84-year-old holidaymaker has been rescued by a lifeboat crew after slipping and injuring himself on the rocks of Inner Farne island.

The visitor to the National Trust island off the Northumberland coast is understood to have diverted from designated footpaths and walkways to a gully to take photographs of the thousands of nesting birds there, including puffins, shags and tern.

The Ripon man, who was on a day trip with his wife from their holiday cottage in nearby Craster, lost his footing on the wet rocks at 3.30pm on Monday and suffered a leg injury and a suspected fractured hip, leaving him unable to move.

A member of the Seahouses Lifeboat Crew who runs boat trips to the 6.7-hectare island called for assistance from his colleagues as helicopter rescues on the islands are avoided due to fears of bird strike.

A spokesman for the lifeboat station said: "The man was in quite a bit of pain and couldn't put any weight on his left leg, so we carried him from where he fell in a basket stretcher. After getting him and his wife aboard the lifeboat we kept out of the main tide to minimise movement.

"On arrival at Seahouses, the man said he was very grateful as he was carried on the stretcher into the lifeboat station, to await the arrival of an ambulance, which took him to the Northumbria Accident Hospital at Cramlington for treatment."