A CLIMBER who fell some 50 metres was airlifted to safety in Lochaber on Saturday afternoon.

The man fell in the Back Coire on Aonach Mor, beside Ben Nevis, at around 2.20pm. It is understood that the man, who has not been named, suffered a broken leg in the fall.

Members of RAF Kinloss Mountain Rescue Team were on exercise in the area and the medically-trained personnel among them offered assistance.

The man was taken up the cliff in a stretcher and moved to a more accessible point.

A Royal Navy helicopter from HMS Gannet in Prestwick airlifted the man to the west end car park in Fort William and he was taken by ambulance to Belford Hospital.