Dog walker falls 500ft down Pen y Fan mountain

Rescuers said the start of the drop where the dog walker fell was 'vertical'

A dog walker has fallen about 500ft from the top of Pen y Fan mountain.

The man was peering over the side of the Brecon Beacons peak looking for his pet spaniel Marshall when he tumbled about 150m after it at about 09:15 BST.

The 29-year-old was airlifted to University Hospital of Wales with injuries to his face, neck, shoulders and legs. Marshall suffered cuts and a broken toe.

Brecon Mountain Rescue said "amazingly" the man had not lost consciousness.

Deputy team leader Mark Jones said: "To have fallen that sort of distance, we don't expect to find people alive at the end of it.

"He is a remarkably lucky man - and an even luckier dog."

Spaniel Marshall went over the north-east edge of the mountain top, prompting his owner (not pictured) to peer over the side to look for him

The team reached the walker within 30 minutes thanks to a new 4x4 vehicle bought with donations from the family of James Corfield who died after going missing from the Royal Welsh Show in 2017.

"It would have normally been an hour's walk and a climb down, so it saved lot of time," Mr Jones said.

Others who helped to look after the injured man included a firefighter who was fundraising by walking up Pen y Fan in full kit, and the Central Beacons and Western Beacons mountain rescue teams which were training in the area.