Arbroath cliff rescue man 'a finger's grip away' from death

A walker who was rescued from a cliff face in Arbroath was "a finger's grip away" from death, the Coastguard has said.

The man was about 10m (32ft) from the top of the cliff and slipping when the rescue crew lifted him to safety.

The crew had to perform a rope rescue on the cliff face after a helicopter rescue was deemed too dangerous due to the aircraft's downdraft.

The crew said it found "a cold and tired man in a desperate situation".

They added that the man was "a finger's grip away from plunging to almost certain death".

The crew were called out after the man's companion dialled 999 shortly before 17:00 on Sunday.

A crew with ropes helped the man to safety after a helicopter rescue was deemed too dangerous

The pair were "well-prepared with the right gear" and had fully-charged mobile phones.

David Kerr, HM Coastguard senior coastal operations officer said the incident was a "close call."

Mr Kerr said: "He was struggling to hold on, and it was a long way to fall.

"The teams knew they had to get to him and quickly.

"It was a tough rope rescue in darkness on a steep and crumbling cliff."

Teams from Arbroath, Dundee, and Stonehaven were called to the scene at Dickmont's Den, along with RNLI lifeboats, and a search and rescue helicopter from Inverness.

Mr Kerr said: "It goes to show how quickly a nice winter walk can turn sour, one decision and suddenly the man found himself gripping on for life.

"It really can happen that easily and to anyone."