Rope rescue saves injured man found at bottom of 25-metre cliff

West Midlands Ambulance service said it was unclear how the man, in his 20s, had ended up at the bottom of the cliff near Bridgnorth.

Five teams of firefighters and the police were also on hand after he was found at High Rock, next to the A442, at around 10.15pm on Sunday.

The injured man was splinted, put on a stretcher, attached to a rope and lowered down another steep bank before he was taken to hospital with back and shoulder pain.

The emergency services also used a police helicopter with a thermal imaging camera to search for a second person at the scene, but nobody else was found

Murray MacGregor, of West Midlands Ambulance Service, said: “The man, who was in his 20s, was found at the bottom of a 25m cliff, though it wasn’t clear how he had come to be there.

“The man was complaining of back and shoulder pain. He was immobilised, had his injuries splinted and was given pain relief.

"The HART team then clipped the stretcher onto a rope system put in place by Shropshire Fire.

"The man was then lowered down a steep embankment before being taken to New Cross Hospital for further assessment and treatment."

A spokesman from Shropshire Fire and Rescue said: "Firefighters were quickly briefed and deployed to begin a search of the area.

"Within five minutes a casualty was located and patient assessments began.

"We were soon supported by members of West Midlands Ambulance Service's HART team who took over the care of casualty.

"Due to the potential of a fall from height, the casualty was immobilised fully.

"A rope rescue system was established by our colleagues from Telford Central and Wellington to take him from the heavy woodland to the roadside."

Five fire crews including the incident support unit and the rescue tender were sent from Bridgnorth, Tweedale and Wellington.

An ambulance, a paramedic officer, the hazardous area response team and a senior paramedic officer were also sent to the scene.