A MAN with a suspected head injury was airlifted from a cliff following a fall - sparking a huge emergency services response.
Wyke and Portland Bill Coastguard Rescue Teams assisted in the area, as well as a coastguard helicopter, to find the stricken casualty.
Emergency services say the man sustained a suspected head injury and was in a precarious position on rough terrain, which caused a coastguard helicopter to be called.
The injured casualty was winched to safety and was airlifted to the nearby Heliops base. From here, the person was transferred to a waiting ambulance.
Witnesses in the area saw five coastguard vans, three ambulance vehicles, including an incident response lorry, parked on the seafront at nearby Chesil Beach.
A witness told Dorset Echo how she first became aware of the ongoing incident when she saw an air ambulance 'circling' the area.
She said: “We walked the dog at 12pm at Tout Quarry and while we were there the air ambulance started circling.
“It then landed on the coast path just past Portland Stone. It then left."
She added: "We then sat at Quiddles cafe where they had been told a lady had fallen and injured her head but the services couldn't locate her.
“Whilst sat at Quiddles an ambulance, an incident response van and an incident response lorry all arrived.
“The Coastguard helicopter started circling around 2pm and had three times lowered down but without success.”
The nearby Quiddles café saw multiple emergency service vehicles parked outside its business as passersby looking on.
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A spokeswoman from Quiddles Cafe, said: "There are around five coastguard vehicles - and an air ambulance.
"A customer had come into the cafe and said someone has injured themselves on the cliff.
"The air ambulance was on scene, and had been for around two hours now."
A spokesman for Maritime and Coastguard Agency said: “At just before 12.30pm, HM Coastguard received a report that a person had fallen near Blacknor Point, Isle of Portland, Dorset.
"Wyke and Portland Bill Coastguard Rescue Teams were sent to assist as well as the HM Coastguard search and rescue helicopter from Lee-on-Solent.
"The casualty was located and winched to a place of safety before being passed into the care of the South Western Ambulance Service.”
South Western Ambulance Service Trust has been approached for a comment.
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