A YOUNG climber was in a stable condition yesterday after falling 100ft down a cliff near Tintern Abbey.

The emergency services were called to the scene at around 5.30pm on Sunday.

The steepness of the area and the difficulty in finding the man’s exact location meant it took around four hours for the man to be manually rescued.

An advanced paramedic together with the police, fire service, and members of the Longtown Mountain Rescue team helped with the rescue.

Lance Paget from Longtown Mountain Rescue team said the accident happened on the east side of the river.

An RAF helicopter and a Midlands Air Ambulance helicopter were called to winch the man off the cliff but because of the steep nature of the terrain, it was too dangerous for the helicopters and rescuers had to manually carry the man down.

15 members of the Longtown Mountain Rescue team carried out the rescue along with an advanced paramedic and firefighters from Chepstow, Ebbw Vale and Malpas.

It is believed the unnamed man, in his early 20s, was in a climbing team of around 10 young people.

The national staff officer for the Welsh Ambulance Service, Cliff Randall, who was involved in the rescue, said the emergency services were in Tintern within eight minutes.

But he said the man had fallen in a remote and isolated wooded area which was difficult to find, meaning it was several hours before he was taken to hospital.

The man was taken by ambulance to the Royal Gwent Hospital, Newport, with back injuries.

The helicopter landed in the football pitch attached to The Anchor Inn in Tintern.

Landlady Jill Pocock saw the helicopters land and kept the pub open late to provide hot drinks for the children who were part of the climbing group and the rescuers.

Ms Pocock described the area as a popular and safe climbing spot.