WATCH: Dorset rescue survivor thanks the RNLI in special Christmas video
Amy Welford fell 40ft down a cliff while abseiling in Swanage
A woman who fell 40ft down a cliff near Swanage is thanking the RNLI volunteers who saved her.
Normally, Amy Welford would thank the crews in person when she travels to Swanage each year, but 2020 hasn't allowed her to do that.
Amy was abseiling down a cliff at Anvil Point near Swanage in 2016, when she felt herself falling:
"Halfway into leaning back it was kind of like being suspended for a moment before everything came crashing down."
The volunteer crew from Swanage Lifeboat Station were first on the scene as part of a multi-agency rescue which eventually saw Amy being airlifted to hospital by HM Coastguard with serious injuries.
Now, Amy is thanking the teams that saved her alongside 13 other survivors from across the globe. They're all urging others to remember the charity at Christmas.
"I remember being at the bottom of the cliff and it hadn’t quite sunk in what had happened," said Amy, who was close to celebrating her 21st birthday when the accident happened.
"Next thing I know is there is like people dressed in yellow with massive helmets on. I’ve always been a supporter of the RNLI and immediately recognised the clothing.
"I knew they had the big guns, I knew if need be they could get spinal boards and the means to get me out. I’ve always loved the RNLI so I knew the capabilities that they had.
Four years on Amy is still coming to terms with the injuries she suffered in the fall, but says she always takes time at Christmas to remember those who helped to save her and keeps in touch with the crew at Swanage.
"We’ve always been very thankful of those that came on the day, I’ve always sang their praises and the fact that they go from being in their day job and like five minutes later being out on the ocean. It’s quite a drastic thing and it’s something which I think takes a certain type of person.
"With Coronavirus we haven’t been able to go down (to the station) but every time that we went down to the coast at Swanage I would always make an attempt to go to the lifeboat station. My mum likes to go to the shop – most of our Christmas shopping tends to come from there, " she laughed.
"It goes through my mind quite a lot – not just at Christmas but the thought that I wouldn’t have got to see my niece for her first Christmas, seeing my friends and family. Things could have been much different that day and I got very lucky.
"If I should ever find myself in a similar predicament I won’t be alone, I will have people that will help me, that will literally drop what they are doing in a second and go and help someone they don’t even know so I would say thank you!"