Man airlifted out of gorse bushes

A man has been rescued by helicopter after being trapped in prickly gorse for two days.

The 32-year-old was stuck in an area of 8ft high bushes on a cliff face at Primrose Valley near Filey until he was seen waving a lighter on Tuesday.

Emergency services were unable to reach him so a helicopter was scrambled from RAF Leconfield and the man was airlifted to hospital with hypothermia.

Sgt Colin Yorke from the RAF said they had no idea how the man had got there.

When we arrived we could just see this hand poking out above the top of the gorse. Sgt Colin Yorke from RAF Leconfield

"He was right in the middle of the gorse," he said. "It was like he'd been dropped there by a spaceship."

The man, who is from Hunmanby, was rescued at about 0450 BST on Tuesday.

Mr Yorke said he had been numb from the waist down as he had not moved since Sunday.

"He was out of it really," he said.

"When we arrived we could just see this hand poking out above the top of the gorse.

"Luckily there was a small hole in the bushes so I could be winched down and get this guy out."