COASTGUARDS and ambulance crews had a race against time to airlift an injured man.

The man had fallen from a wall and had sustained a rib injury. Because of where he was on the beach at Swanage, the tide was coming in and so the air ambulance was called to airlift him.

The Swanage Coastguard rescue team, RNLI crews, coastguard rescue helicopter and South Western Ambulance Trust attended the incident at Peveril Point Road in Swanage on Tuesday afternoon.

A spokesman for the ambulance said: “We were called to a 45-year-old male casualty who had fallen from a wall and had a rib injury.”

He was airlifted to Dorset County Hospital.

A spokesman for the Swanage Coastguard Team said they were called, along with the rescue helicopter to attend the incident where a boat park worker had been injured.

He said: “Rescue 106 was tasked along with the Air Ambulance to assist a male who had fallen.

“The male had been treated by some RNLI crew before being joined by the Coastguard team.”

The air ambulance took the man to hospital and the coastguard helicopter picked up their winch man, who had been assisting with the casualty, and took him back to base.