'Life-saving' app used in Western Isles hillwalker rescue

The app divides the world into three-metre squares and gives each one a unique three-word address

A Scottish ambulance crew used a new "life-saving" app to provide the location of an injured hillwalker.

The alarm was raised earlier this week after the walker was hurt near Stornoway in the Isle of Lewis.

The Scottish Ambulance Service confirmed the crew used the app What3words to help a coastguard team find them and the casualty.

The app divides the world into three-metre squares and gives each one a unique three-word address.

It was designed by a London-based start-up and has been used by emergency services in England.

An ambulance service spokeswoman said: "We attended an incident involving a hillwalker in Stornoway where an ambulance crew was dispatched.

"As part of working together with the Coastguard, the 3words app was used by our crews in assisting with the extraction of the patient by the coastguard."