Man rescued after being stranded on cliff face
Bryn Austin went to the cliff face to study a landslide, police say
- Published
A retired geologist has been rescued from a cliff face after he explored the area to study a landslide, police say.
Bryn Austin was walking at Fairlight Glen in East Sussex but he lost his bearings on the steep route down and became stranded in the dark.
When the 71-year-old failed to show up for dinner, his family alerted Sussex Police and a search operation was launched.
Mr Austin said he had soon realised he was "in a spot of bother" during his walk.
The descent became increasingly steep and the cliff edge "was really dodgy", he said.
In an attempt to stay warm, he started a fire using basic tools he was carrying – a lighter, some newspaper and packaging left over from an Easter egg.
Mr Austin, who lives in Norfolk, had been visiting relatives nearby the cliff and ventured to the site last Wednesday.
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Police were called shortly after 22:00 BST and located his vehicle in the area.
With Mr Austin being unreachable by foot, the HM Coastguard search and rescue helicopter was used to winch him to safety.
Mr Austin made several attempts to contact his relatives but there was no signal and his mobile phone ran out of battery
Mr Austin said: "I’d like to thank every single person who was involved in what was a life-or-death situation for me."
Chief Insp Sarah Whitworth, of the National Police Air Service, said: "This is a great example of how we work together, in the air and on the ground, to save lives."
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