North York Moors: Dog alerts rescuers to owner's 200ft fall

A man badly injured after falling 200ft (61m) down an embankment onto rocks was saved after his dog alerted rescuers to his plight.

The man was stuck on the outcrop near Lealholme on the North York Moors for several hours on Wednesday evening.

He was treated for multiple injuries in a five-hour operation involving an air ambulance and coastguard helicopter.

The man was hospitalised after being stretchered to safety, a spokesperson for Cleveland Mountain Rescue said.

The alarm was raised when the injured man's dog was seen alone below a camp site at Wild Slack Farm at the top of the embankment.

A spokesperson for the mountain rescue team said the dog had climbed to the top of the embankment when it heard voices, which was how campers at the summit became aware of what had happened and raised the alarm.

The spokesperson said the animal had been "frightened, cold, hungry and tired" and was later reluctant to leave her owner until coaxed by one of the rescue team members.

Almost 30 members of the rescue team were involved in the call out, with eight carrying the man up to safety.

The route to the top was "painstaking, narrow, muddy and overgrown", with rescuers "stopping, starting and passing the stretcher hand over hand", the spokesperson added.

An option to winch the man up by helicopter had been discounted earlier due to the possibility of flying debris caused by the aircraft's down draft.

Holidaymakers at Wild Slack Farm campsite were praised by the Cleveland team for directing rescuers to the scene, supplying water for the Great North Air Ambulance Service crew and for looking after the casualty's dog and supplying her with treats.

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