A MAN was airlifted to hospital after falling 50ft down a cliff on the Jurassic Coast.

It is understood the man was making his way down a path towards the Durdle Door beauty spot when he tumbled off the cliff.

He is believed to have suffered a broken ankle and chest injuries in the fall, which left him unconscious.

It happened when the area was packed with visitors and beachgoers and a large crowd watched as emergency services leapt into action.

The incident was one of four separate rescues that coastguard crews were scrambled to within a matter of hours all in the same area on Sunday afternoon.

Gosha Port from Somerset, who was visiting Durdle Door for the day with her husband and 11-year-old daughter, saw the man fall.

She said: “Every time I close my eyes it’s like a film, rewinding over and over.

“We were walking down and we had nearly reached the bottom when he fell. I was in shock, and was physically sick afterwards. I was thinking about my daughter.

“I screamed for help and one of the coastguards turned around and started running towards him.

“After seeing it we went straight back up, we didn’t want to go down. It’s one of those things where you’re thinking about your own family.”

Coastguard teams and paramedics rushed to help the man who had fallen near steps leading down to Durdle Door at around 4pm.

The Coastguard helicopter from Lee-on-Solent was scrambled and an air ambulance also landed at the scene.

Dorset Echo:

AIRLIFT: Coastguard helicopter leaves Man O' War Beach near Durdle Door with sick swimmer   Picture by Karl J Edmonstone

A spokesman for the UK Coastguard said: “The man was possibly unconscious.

“There were big crowds watching and coastguard rescue teams had to hold them back.”

The man, who suffered a possible broken ankle and chest injuries, was winched into the helicopter and flown to Dorset County Hospital where Wyke Coastguard had prepared Dorchester Rugby Ground for its landing.

Shortly before this incident, the Kimmeridge team helped Lulworth Coastguard crews with three other incidents nearby, including a man that had got into difficulty and suffered chest pains after swimming in cold water at Man O’War Beach around 3.30pm.

A spokesman for Kimmeridge Coastguard said: “A call came in for attendance to a casualty at Durdle Door to back up our Lulworth Coastguard colleagues with a person that had chest pains.

“With hundreds on the beach we assisted paramedics with first aid and crowd control.

“We were then alerted to a second casualty at the same location that had received a small laceration from a falling rock.

“Whilst this person was being treated yet another call came in that a person had sustained a possible leg fracture after falling down not far from our response vehicles.”

An ambulance was called to help the coastguard teams and the man with chest pains was flown to Dorset County Hospital by the Coastguard rescue helicopter.

Following the busy day, Kimmeridge Coastguard were later alerted to a person seen climbing along a cliff top. They stood by as a precaution observing the climber until he safely reached the top.