A climber was winched to safety by firefighters last night after getting stuck on a cliff near Capel-le-Ferne.

The man, in his early-twenties, had been stranded on Abbot’s Cliff for about 45 minutes.

He was 25 metres from the top of the cliff, while his climbing partner managed to reach the top and call the emergency services.

Two fire engines from Folkestone, the specialist line rescue team from Deal fire station, coastguard teams, police and the Hazardous Area Response Team were on the scene just before 7pm.

Chris Redmond, Folkestone watch manager said: “Crews worked quickly to find the man and used specialist line rescue equipment to reach him.

"He was placed in a rescue sling and winched up to the top safely by one of our line rescue teams from Deal.

“We are pleased to have had such a successful outcome and that the man had no apparent injuries.”