Sheffield climber ‘severely injured’ after falling 40ft from cliffs in Anglesey in northwest Wales
The alarm was raised by a climbing companion who had to climb back to the top of the cliff to call emergency services
A Sheffield climber who fell 40ft from a cliff was airlifted to hospital after being rescued by the RNLI at the weekend.
Anglesey’s Holyhead RNLI and Trearddur Bay RNLI were involved in a joint emergency call on Saturday, June 1, to rescue the severely injured climber.
The man, from the Sheffield area, was only approximately 10ft above sea level, and was immobile due to his injuries. He had fallen while climbing with a companion, who then raised the alarm after climbing 400ft back up to the cliff top to find a phone signal.
Holyhead’s inshore lifeboat Mary and Archie Hooper was launched within minutes of being called at around 7pm, and headed straight to the scene, in Gogarth Bay, near North Stack, just off Holy Island.
On arrival at the location, the Holyhead lifeboat volunteers requested support from flanking station Trearddur Bay for additional medical assistance and equipment.
Both lifeboats placed crew members onto the rocks where the casualty was stranded, and casualty care treatment began. The man was given pain relief to make him more comfortable.
Holyhead’s remaining crew launched the all-weather lifeboat Christopher Pearce, to support and assist at the scene, arriving at the location just after 8pm.
The HM Coastguard helicopter assisted in the rescue. A winch paramedic was lowered to further treat the casualty. A cliff rescue volunteer also joined the lifeboat volunteers and the paramedic in treating the injured man.
As night fell, the all-weather lifeboat provided illumination with searchlights as those on the cliff face prepared to evacuate the casualty.
The man was placed onto a stretcher, carefully lowered onto Holyhead’s inshore lifeboat, and then transferred across to the all-weather lifeboat, when he was winched, along with the paramedic, up to the helicopter to be taken to hospital.
Holyhead lifeboat operations manager David Owens said: “This was a great example of Holyhead and Trearddur Bay lifeboat crews and Anglesey coastguard volunteers working together in very technically difficult circumstances.
“Both climbers were well-equipped, and knew what to do when the accident happened. We wish the man a full and speedy recovery from his injuries, and also recognition for his friend who had to make a difficult trip to be able to call for help.”