THE importance of the Portland helicopter was highlighted as a woman was rescued and airlifted to hospital after falling almost 30ft down a cliff in a rock-climbing accident.

The climber was taken to Dorset County Hospital to be treated for spinal and leg injuries after she fell whilst out climbing Blacknor North, Portland, with her partner on Saturday.

The Coastguard was alerted at 2.50pm and assisted the Portland Bill team with the rescue.

A spokesman for the coastguard rescue team said: “We took a call from a member of the public reporting that a couple of climbers had got into difficulty on the western coast of Portland.

“The female of the couple took about a 20 or 30 ft fall and landed on her back. From that point on it became about extricating her to a point where she could be treated by the health service.

"The Coastguard Rescue 106 helicopter was dispatched and the helicopter paramedic recovered the casualty.”

The woman was then flown to DCH, arriving at around 5.20pm.

Experienced climber Diana Barker, from Portland, was on the cliff top as the rescue took place.

She said: “I was just sitting on the cliffs enjoying the nice sunshine when I saw the helicopter flying towards me.

“It was obvious something was going on, I wasn’t sure if it was just an exercise or something serious at first, but then we saw a couple of coastguards climbing down the cliff.

"Then the paramedic abseiled down and disappeared between the big rocks. Eventually, they lowered the stretcher, but it took a long time.

“I used to rock-climb a lot all over Portland and these things can happen when you’re climbing, it is just bad luck, I really hope she’s OK.”

In the wake of the accident, residents have once again raised concerns of the imminent departure of the Portland Coastguard Helicopter from the island.

As of July 1, the Portland helicopter, which was called out 166 times last year, will no longer be in operation and the the search and rescue helicopter will have to come from Lee-on-Solent in Hampshire.

Diana added: “Having the helicopter at Lee-on-Solent is a terrible idea. It’s 45 minutes away. I don’t understand why they have made that decision. Even if they are just going to have one helicopter, then Portland seems like the obvious choice.”