Climber flown to hospital after cliff fall on Northumberland beach

The Coastguard helicopter was called to the beach at Spittal, Berwick-upon-Tweed, on Tuesday, July 14.

The injured man was then flown to Edinburgh Royal Hospital.

A Coastguard spokeswoman said: “We received a call from the ambulance service around 7.20pm last night, a report that a climber had fallen 10 metres to the beach at Spittal.

“Our Berwick Coastguard Rescue team and our rescue helicopter from Prestwick attended. The helicopter took the casualty to hospital.”

Witness Quentin Cooper is holidaying nearby. He said: “We are staying on the promenade at Spittal and I was out with my wife.

"We were just walking along the promenade top where there is a raised footpath up to some cliffs. I think it is an old quarry and it seems to be an established favourite for climbers.

"We could see the helicopter getting very low on the shoreline, then it moved up to the top of the cliff. We could see an ambulance there and paramedics.

“There was a group of about 10 or 15 people. According to them, he fell from the top of what is a 20-metre sheer face.

A North East Ambulance Service spokeswoman added: “We were called at 7.09pm on Tuesday, July 14 to a patient injured near Spittal beach in Berwick.

"We dispatched a double-crewed ambulance and one of our hazardous area response teams. A male patient was airlifted to hospital.”

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