Rescuers race tide to save woman

Rescuers raced against the tide after a woman plunged down a cliff and got stuck between two boulders on the Moray coast.

The 62-year-old was knocked unconscious when she fell about 20ft at Covesea Links near Lossiemouth. Firefighters, coastguard teams and paramedics battled for more than an hour to free her from the rocks. She was flown by air ambulance to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness suffering from a head injury.

And rescuers said she was lucky not to have been more seriously hurt.

Golfers continued playing at nearby Covesea Links – despite three fire engines, two coastguard teams and police vehicles parking just yards from the course. Staff at the course became aware something was wrong when the woman’s husband arrived looking for help.

Owner Angela Burnett, said: “He was pretty much in shock. The woman’s sister stayed there talking to her while he waited for the emergency services.

“The rocks out here are pretty scary. If the tide came in then they could have been in trouble.

“You don’t want to be down there in the wrong place at the wrong time if you can’t climb out.”

Fire crews were first on the scene and used specialist harnesses to get down the cliff to reach the woman.

Gordon Morrison, fire station manager in Elgin, said: “When we got there she was unconscious with head trauma.

“The way she fell, she slipped through a gap between two boulders and just went straight through. We were lucky the tide was out but it was coming back in so we were fighting against the elements.”