Teenager in 40ft cliff fall at Dudley beauty spot

He was rescued by fire and ambulance crews who were called to Saltwells Nature Reserve at around 5.15pm.

The man, believed to be aged 18 years old, suffered leg and wrist injuries after tumbling a large part of the way down the near-vertical slope in the reserve between Brierley Hill and Netherton.

He hit a tree stump in the fall, which left him with a deep gouge in his thigh.

Paramedics were lowered down by a rope to treat the man and he was then placed on a stretcher before being lowered to the bottom of the slope.

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said the man fell the best part of 40ft down the slope.

"The patient, who was in his late teens or early 20s, had been with some friends at the top of the steep embankment when he slipped. Although he apparently managed to keep his feet at the top, he tumbled a large part of the way down hitting a tree stump which left him with a deep 'gouge' in his thigh. He also had a sprained wrist.

"Firefighters set up a rope from the top of the slope which allowed the specialist paramedics from the Hazardous Area Response Team to lower themselves down to the patient.

"His wound was dressed and was placed in a specialist stretcher before being lowered to the bottom of the slope.

"While this was on-going, other members of the HART Team managed to find a way to get a Polaris 6×6 vehicle down to the bottom of the slope.

"The man was then placed on the vehicle and driven almost half a mile back to the ambulance. He was then taken to Russells Hall Hospital. He is likely to need surgery for the wound.

"This was an excellent example of fire and ambulance staff working together to rescue a patient from a challenging location."