A TERRIFIED teenager who had been trapped on a cliff at Aberfelin for three hours last Wednesday, October 11, was rescued by a passing tree surgeon.

The teen had climbed up the cliffs from Aberfelin beach to a height of around 30 to 40 feet and then got stuck. Unable to go up any further he had become too panicked to make the descent and was frozen in fear on the cliff face, while three of his friends on the beach below tried to work out what to do.

They approached a local resident, Paul Daniels, who was walking his dog. Paul decided to walk out of the cove to get a phone signal and call the emergency services. On the road he came across another local, Ian Storrie, with his friend Jonny, a tree surgeon and experienced tree climber.

"It just so happened that Jonny had been felling trees for me and had his climbing harness and ropes with him," said Ian. "So rather than call the coast guard he said 'well, I'll just pop down and get him'."

The tenacious tree surgeon attached his climbing line to a concrete fence post above the site of the stranded teenager and abseiled down, to the amazement and joy of the teen and his friends.

"Jonny's rope was too short to allow him to reach the teenager," explained Ian so I had to drive the 15 minute return journey home and get him another rope.

"I threw this down to him and he attached one end of to himself, and threw the other end to the teenager."

Jonny told the teen to tie the rope around himself and the proceeded to lower the lad down to his friends waiting on the beach.

"The teenager shakily and very humbly eventually walked from the cliff edge looked up and very nervously waved his gratitude," said Ian. "He was severely shaken but extremely grateful.

"It really was a case of right place right time and saved a coastguard rescue together with whatever cost that would have entailed."