Injured abseiler's two-hour crawl

The man had been abseiling alone on the cliff

A man is recovering in hospital after crawling for two hours to get help after he fell 100 feet while abseiling down a cliff.

The 45-year-old man from London was abseiling on the cliffs at Ventnor, Isle of Wight, when he fell at about 1730 GMT on Sunday.

A Hampshire Police spokesman said that because the man was alone he had to crawl to find a phone and call an ambulance.

The man is recovering in hospital but his injuries are said to be not life-threatening.

Accidents while abseiling are very common, not just for beginners

Stuart Ingram, British Mountaineering Council

The police spokesman said: "A 45-year-old London man was abseiling when he fell approximately 100 feet down the cliffs.

"He was on his own and it then took him two hours to crawl to the nearest phone he could find to notify Hampshire Ambulance Service who then attended and took him to hospital."

Stuart Ingram, information coordinator for the British Mountaineering Council said that it was not uncommon for people to abseil alone and that it was perfectly safe if done properly.

"Accidents while abseiling are very common, not just for beginners, even experienced mountaineers have accidents while abseiling."