An Angus councillor warned clifftop walkers not to “take their lives in their hands,” after two men fell 60ft from a path near Arbroath.
An RAF rescue helicopter from Lossiemouth was scrambled to Lunan Bay after the pair, aged 32 and 41, dropped to the beach from Rickle Craig point.
Following the airlift and rescue mission involving a team of more than 30, including Tayside Fire and Rescue, Montrose and Stonehaven coastguard and Tayside Police the men were taken to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee where it was confirmed they had escaped serious injury.
The incident prompted a strong reaction from Arbroath councillor David Fairweather, who called for those using the area to stick to the path and to exercise extreme caution.
He said, “Obviously we don’t know the exact circumstances of what happened and we hope the men involved make a full recovery, but this latest incident serves to show how dangerous it can be to mess about up there.
“We all know the problems we are having just along the road at Seaton Path, and the cliffs at Lunan Bay are made from the same unstable sandstone.
“It is important to get this message across to people that they need to stick to the proper paths there and not go anywhere near the edge of the cliffs.”
The alarm was raised by the brother of one of the injured party and the Forth coastguard team was the first to arrive at the scene.
A Forth coastguard spokesman said, “The first guy started falling off the edge so his friend went to grab him and they both went over.Extra care”In light of the recent weather events, the ground at the top of Lunan Bay, Montrose and Arbroath has become eroded and people should take extra care when walking in these parts.
“This is the first incident of this kind to happen there for a while.”
It had initially been suspected the 32-year-old had severe head, neck and spinal injuries and that the 41-year-old had multiple broken ribs however, police confirmed a check by doctors revealed one of the men had suffered from minor whiplash and the other was simply treated for shock.
Both men were released from hospital on Wednesday night.
An RAF spokesman confirmed a helicopter arrived at the cliffside shortly after 7pm, following the call on Wednesday.
“We found the patient packaged by the local ambulance service and took him to Ninewells,” he said.
Catherine Doig (49), a swimming instructor from Dunninald, said, “The ambulance went past at 6.30pm and then I saw the helicopter go over. I’m glad they’re okay.
“The winds were really high here last night. I walk with my dogs on the cliffs but it will make me think twice.”
Another onlooker said they saw emergency services on site.
“We heard it was people out walking and then they must have taken a short cut to the beach,” she said.
“They fell down the hill and we saw two fire engines, ambulances, three coastguards at the site.”
Maralyn Reed-Wood, who runs the nearby Redcastle Pottery, said the clifftops were getting popular with thrillseeking “tombstoners” who purposely dive into the waters below.
She added, “There are more and more of them that come down each year and it is getting very dangerous.”