Trapped man rescued from abandoned Cornwall mine

The trapped man was lifted to the surface by the rescue team using a specialist stretcher

A man has been rescued after becoming trapped inside an abandoned mine.

A group went inside Phoenix Mine in Minions, Cornwall, at about 11:00 GMT on Saturday, Devon Cave Rescue Organisation (DCRO) said.

A friend raised the alarm when they failed to return and initial reports said two of them were trapped inside.

One managed to get to the surface on their own but the man was rescued from about 45ft (14m) down a mine shaft, DCRO said.

He had become stuck on ropes down the shaft and the friend lowered him to a ledge with a large drop on one side, the group added.

The man was exhausted and suffering from injuries due to having been suspended in the shaft for a long time.

A friend of the group raised the alarm when they failed to return from the abandoned mine, rescuers said

DCRO was called out at about 19:40 GMT and a paramedic and one of their team were lowered down the shaft and gave the man drugs and stabilised him.

He was then hauled to the surface on a specialist cave stretcher just before 01:00 GMT on Sunday, taken to an ambulance and then to hospital.

Zak Harvey-Brewer, from East Cornwall Search and Rescue, was also called to the mine and said people enjoyed exploring the mines and caves in the area.

"There was a lot of us there to get this chap out. It was a good use of the skills we have got," he said.

After the man was rescued, Mr Harvey-Brewer said he was "talking and generally in good spirits given what he had been through".