A man who got stuck after climbing 70ft up a cliff had to be rescued in an operation that triggered a large scale emergency response.

The man got stuck in a 'precarious' and inaccessible position high above a Purbeck beach and ended up having to be airlifted to safety

Two coastguard rescue teams, firefighters from three different stations, a search and rescue helicopter, police and paramedics were all involved in the operation yesterday afternoon, which came on the third day of the national lockdown.

While the man was not injured in the incident, it is warned the rescue involved a lot of emergency services' resources.

The man got stuck climbing Stair Hole, which is just west of Lulworth Cove.

Lulworth Coastguard Rescue Team (CRT) was alerted at 2.15pm to provide cliff rescue capabilities. Due to the nature of the incident, Kimmeridge Coastguard was also sent.

Firefighters from Weymouth, Wareham and Poole stations were also sent.

A Lulworth CRT spokesman said: "After hasty assessment of the incident, Lulworth requested immediate support from a rescue helicopter.

"The man had climbed up from the beach at the western side of Stair Hole. He had stopped when he couldn’t climb any further, becoming stuck in a loose and precarious position high above the beach.

"Coastguard Rescue 187 was training over Barnstaple, north Devon and was sent to scene.

"While the aircraft was on passage, the fire and rescue teams set up a rope rescue at the top of Stair Hole.

"Due to the extremely inaccessible location of the gentleman, the attempt was unsuccessful. Rescue 187 arrived on scene shortly after.

"The helicopter managed to carefully manoeuvre their winchman to firstly traverse and then come from below the casualty, securing him in a harness. The pair were flown a short distance to a safe location, the winchman/paramedic then assessed the man for injuries.

"Thankfully, other than being a little cold and visibly shocked, the man was none the worse off for his ordeal.

"Rescue 187 landed on the green at Lulworth Cove, retrieved their winchman and then returned to South Wales.

"A great example of multiple teams working together for a positive outcome."

A spokesman for Wareham Fire Station said: "Luckily they were rescued without injury but with emergency services already under pressure, these types of multi agency incidents take up a lot of resources.

"Please take care during lockdown and help emergency services by giving these types of activities a miss."