Cliff fall man found thanks to light from mobile phone

A man has been airlifted to hospital after falling from a cliff near the Barrowfields in Newquay.

Emergency services were called to the scene at 12.20am on Wednesday (4 June), including Newquay Coastguard Rescue Team, RNLI lifeboats, Devon and Cornwall Police, South Western Ambulance Service, and Cornwall Air Ambulance’s critical care team. Full-time Coastguard Officer S11C and Coastguard Rescue Helicopter 924 also attended.

Newquay RNLI lifeboat volunteers were paged at 12.32am, with both lifeboats launching within minutes. The D class lifeboat launched first, followed by the Atlantic 85, with crews beginning a shoreline search from Tolcarne to Lusty Glaze.

The crucial breakthrough came when crew from the D class lifeboat spotted a torchlight from the casualty’s mobile phone, which led them to a small cove. They managed to get ashore and assess the man’s condition before relaying the location to coastguard teams preparing for a rope rescue. A paramedic was lowered down the cliff to reach the casualty, with further support arriving via winch from the Coastguard helicopter.

The man was stabilised and airlifted to hospital with injuries not believed to be life-threatening. Both lifeboats remained on standby in the bay until all personnel were safe, before returning to the station at 3.05am.

Newquay Coastguard Rescue Team praised the “effective multi-agency team working” and wished the casualty a speedy recovery.