Woman saved after Orkney cliff fall says it changed her life for the better

A woman who plunged into the sea while abseiling in Orkney has returned to thank those who helped save her life.

Louise Houghton was with partner Allan Evans at Yesnaby when the accident happened in May last year.

He managed to keep her head above the water while she was unconscious, until a lifeboat crew pulled them on board.

She has spent the last year recovering and starting to walk again, and believes what happened has ultimately made her a better person.

The couple, who live near Wigan, have now been back to the sea stack, as well as meeting the Stromness RNLI crew.

"Although it seems like a bad thing to happen, I've learned a lot from it, it's changed my life for the better," Ms Houghton told BBC Radio Orkney.

"When I went over the edge I just started falling. I shouted out 'oh no I'm falling' and that's the last thing I remember."

The next thing she was aware of was being pulled out of the sea.

Mr Evans recalled: "I abseiled down and got to the bottom - and then Louise didn't. I remember it went from slow motion to really fast, really quick. She hit the ground and I remember screaming 'no' and screaming for help.

"Louise almost bounced off into the sea, she was face down. Honestly I thought she was gone.

"I jumped into the sea, pulled her head out of the water, then I was struggling to keep both our heads out the water, I was going down then Louise was going down. And I was still trying to scream for help at the same time.

"Then I managed to pin Louise up against the rocks. Louise started coming round."

Stromness lifeboat arrived and was able to get them aboard, then onto a Coastguard helicopter to take her to hospital.

She underwent surgery for her injuries, and has been rehabilitating since.

"My walking has improved over time, starting from about August/September when I was finally allowed to stand up," she said.

After months of hard work she is even starting to run again.

She is going to attempt a 5k to raise funds for the RNLI, and local crew members have said they will join the effort.

"I don't know how close I'll get to being back to how I was physically before. Mentally it's changed me for good," Ms Houghton said.

"Because I had the accident here I feel like it's a bit of me now.

"It is so good to see everyone, just to say thank you. I don't think thank you means how grateful I am."

Mr Evans added: "For me, I could never thank them enough, they're just amazing."

Ms Houghton said returning to the spot was "very emotional" and she started crying.

"I needed to go back there," she said.

"I know it's always going to be part of my life."