Walker injured in 80ft ravine fall

Apr 7 2008 by David Bartlett, Liverpool Daily Post

A 36-YEAR-OLD man was airlifted to hospital yesterday after falling down a ravine in a popular Wirral park.

Emergency crews were called to Thurstaston Common at about 1pm after reports that a man had fallen 80ft and landed in a shallow stream.

The man, from Wallasey, was walking in an area of the park known as the Dungeon with his wife at the time of the fall. He was taken to Arrowe Park Hospital with back injuries but was last night said to be recovering well.

“It looks like he slipped and his wife has not been able to grab him in time,” said Inspector Graham Spencer.

He said there were no suspicious circumstances.

Graham Gerrie, watch manager at Heswall fire station, said:

“When we arrived we assisted the paramedics to place him on a spine board and transport him on a stretcher to a farmer’s field where the police helicopter picked him up.”

He was taken to Arrowe Park Hospital. “He will have a sore back, but thankfully it was not worse,” added Insp Spencer.

A spokesman for North West Ambulance Service said: “The scene was quite inaccessible. We had to abandon the ambulance and go on for foot with all our equipment for the remaining three-quarters of a mile to reach the injured man.

“We took him to a field where the helicopter could reach to take him to hospital.

“He is in a stable condition.”