A MAN suffered multiple injuries after falling 40 feet down an embankment at a Dudley beauty spot.

Emergency services were called to Saltwells Nature Reserve, Netherton, at around 5.15pm yesterday evening (Tuesday).

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: “The patient, who was in his late teens or early 20s, had been with some friends at the top of the steep embankment when he slipped.

“Although he apparently managed to keep his feet at the top, he tumbled a large part of the way down hitting a tree stump which left him with a deep gouge in his thigh. He also had a sprained wrist."

Firefighters led the rescue mission and set up a rope, allowing paramedics to get to the patient, who was then placed on a stretcher and lowered to the bottom of the slope.

The spokesman continued: “While this was on-going, other members of the hazardous area response team managed to find a way to get a Polaris 6×6 vehicle down to the bottom of the slope.

"The man was then placed on the vehicle and driven almost half a mile back to the ambulance. He was then taken to Russells Hall Hospital. He is likely to need surgery for the wound.

“This was an excellent example of fire and ambulance staff working together to rescue a patient from a challenging location.”