A STUDENT taking photographs prompted a large rescue operation yesterday evening when he slipped and fell 13ft down a steep slope in Saltburn.

Sixteen volunteers from the Cleveland Mountain Rescue team joined paramedics in an effort to help the young man, after the fall left him stranded in a remote location with injured legs.

The student, from Middlesbrough, had been taking pictures with two of his friends in Saltburn’s Valley Gardens when he fell 4m into Skelton Beck, near the railway viaduct.

Paramedics from the Hazard Area Response Team rushed to the aid of the man - who is in his 20s – but had to call for back up from the Cleveland Mountain Rescue Team due to his fall leaving him 300m from the road.

A statement from the service said the rescue operation had taken around an hour, adding: “Sixteen members from the volunteer rescue team responded to the callout and managed to reach the injured man in one of their Landrover ambulances.

“He was then placed on a mountain rescue stretcher before being transported in the Landrover up a dirt track to the waiting ambulance.”

For more information about Cleveland Mountain Rescue or to make a donation to help the volunteer-led service, visit: clevelandmrt.org.uk