Man rescued from East Sussex cliff face in multi-agency operation
A 71 year old man has been rescued from a cliff near Hastings
A 71 year old man has been rescued from a cliff near Hastings in a multi-agency operation.
Bryn Austin found himself stranded in the dark on the face of a cliff in Fairlight Glen.
With the temperature dropping, no one else in sight and no battery on his mobile phone, he knew it was a case of life or death.
The retired geologist had taken a walk to study the landslide, having visited relatives nearby, on the evening of Wednesday 24 April.
When he failed to respond to their message about dinner, and with the light quickly fading, his family became concerned.
They filed a missing person report with police, and a multi-agency search operation was launched.
In the meantime, Bryn used basic tools at his disposal – a lighter, some newspaper and packaging leftover from an Easter egg – to start a small fire.
His aim was to keep safe and warm, but also to alert anyone out searching for him to his presence.
Police were called shortly after 10pm and managed to locate Bryn’s vehicle in the area. A drone was deployed, but due to the scale of the search region, the National Police Air Service helicopter was requested for back-up.
They were able to direct a search team on foot to the cliffs directly above Bryn, but it quickly became clear that his position was inaccessible.
The HM Coastguard search and rescue helicopter from Lydd was therefore deployed – assisted by Coastguard Rescue Teams from Hastings, Rye Bay, Bexhill and Romney Marsh, and the RNLI's all-weather lifeboat from Eastbourne and Pett Level Independent Rescue Boat – and Bryn was winched to safety.