Elderly man rescued after fall traps him in a cave

AN 83-year-old man has been rescued after spending the night standing up in an underground shaft in remote countryside following a fall.

Jim Salvona, from Edinburgh, fell down the six-metre shaft at Bilston Glen, Midlothian, yesterday.

Mr Salvona, a caver with more than 30 years experience, was found at around 8.30am today by combined rescue teams.

He had slipped off a ladder he had taken with him when he set out on his walk to investigate the old stone-built shaft.

The pensioner was unable to sit down after hurting his back in the fall. Rescuers found him "in good spirits" and he was stretchered out of the underground location and taken to hospital around 10.30am.