Man rescued from top of Cheddar Gorge quarry

As the weather improves and increasing numbers of visitors are coming to Cheddar Gorge, rescue services have again warned the unwary to be cautious while enjoying the views.

It comes after a walker who panicked had a lucky escape from serious injury due to the combined dedication of the Cheddar Gorge rescue services.

At around 4.30pm on Sunday the police and fire services received a 999 call from a man who said he was stuck at the top of Landslip Quarry in the Gorge.

Avon and Somerset Search and Rescue were alerted, as were the ambulance service and within ten minutes all the services were assembled at the bottom of the quarry in the High Rock car park.

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The man concerned could just be seen in the trees at the top of quarry sitting on the ground and hanging onto a branch.

It appeared that he had been walking along the north cliff path and come over the wall, possibly looking for a short cut down, when he found himself at the top of the quarry and panicked.

After some discussion it was decided that the easiest way to get the man down was in fact to take him up on to the top and so a fire crew were sent up to meet the cliff rescue team as they ascended.

Duncan Massey and Craig Williams made their way up the west side of the quarry.

While Duncan made his way to where the man was crouching by the tree, Craig set up a hand line from the top access point where the fire crew would be waiting, through the trees towards where the man was.

It still took much coaxing from the two rescuers to convince the man that he would be safe to go with them.

Finally with Craig in front of him and with Duncan behind they started their careful way along the top of the quarry and eventually safely up to the top.

After being checked out by the medics and found to have only a few scrapes and mild hypothermia, he went on his way.

The walker is believed to be a Hong Kong Chinese university student who had come there for a day out.

However, like so many who get stuck, he got into trouble on his way down the gorge’s cliff side.

Rescue services again warned visitors to be wary, explaining that all the slopes in the gorge are scree slopes with thousands of small lose stones beneath the grass, they can be extremely dangerous to climb.

The number of visitors to the gorge have fallen over recent times, but it still attracts more than 160,000 tourists a year.