An injured paraglider had to be flown to hospital after being rescued from a beach.

The 60-year-old was stranded with back injuries at the base of a cliff at Bishopstone, east of Herne Bay, yesterday morning.

He was half a mile from the nearest land access point, with emergency services descending on the scene.

The Whitstable Atlantic 85 RNLI Lifeboat Lewisco was launched at 10.42am, while the Herne Bay and Margate Coastguard Rescue Teams attended, as did a Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) and a helicopter from Helicopter Emergency Medical Services.

Whitstable Helmsman Dave Parry said: “The location of the casualty, around half a mile from the nearest access point, meant that the lifeboat was the most effective way of extracting him from the beach at the base of the cliff.”

The lifeboat briefly left the scene to collect kit from a coastguard vehicle at Bishopstone Glen, and then returned.

As the tide was falling, and there were several rocks and obstructions exposed, the kit was walked ashore by a second crew member, and the lifeboat anchored just off the beach.

At 11.39am, the victim was carried out to the lifeboat by two crew members helped by members of the Coastguard Rescue Team.

After this the lifeboat slowly sailed, to reduce casualty movement and discomfort, to Herne Bay Harbour. There the victim was landed ashore into the care of coastguard and ambulance personnel.

The casualty was afterwards flown to King’s College Hospital, a major trauma centre in London.

An ambulance service spokesman said: “Paramedics, alongside fellow emergency service partners, the Kent, Surrey, Sussex Air Ambulance Service and the RNLI, attended reports of a paraglider in need of medical attention near Bishopstone Lane, Herne Bay.

“The paraglider was brought to shore by the RNLI before being airlifted to hospital in London.”

Weather conditions at the time of the incident were north-westerly force 3 (gentle) winds and good visibility.