Snowdon helicopter rescue for six

A helicopter from RAF Valley flying over Snowdon

The winchman of an RAF helicopter has rescued six climbers from a cliff on Snowdon in darkness.

The 650ft (200m) cliff was lit up by searchlights from the Sea King helicopter on Saturday night as Sgt Ed Griffiths carried out the rescue.

The five men and a woman from Manchester became stranded when roped to the cliff after one of the climbers fell and was unable to move properly.

They were landed safely as Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team stood by.

Sgt Griffiths was lowered from the helicopter and clipped himself onto the climbers' belay, or safety equipment.

The climbers were then hauled into the helicopter, twice with two at the end of the cable, then finally in a triple lift including the winchman.

They were landed in the valley, and the injured climber, who had bumped his knees, did not need to go to hospital.

The alarm had been raised in a mobile phone call from one of the group.