Tree ordeal for teenager after suffering epileptic fit

Friends of the teenager, believed to be 17, called emergency services just after 3pm yesterday.

It appears the girl and her friends had been climbing the tree when she suffered an epileptic fit, which left her disoriented and unable to climb down.

She was stuck around 20ft up, and the first firefighters on the scene initially worked to make sure she was stable while a specialist line rescue unit was called.

Hundreds of spectators looked on as fire crews and an ambulance pulled up on Princes Street just outside the gardens, by the Scott Monument, while one ambulance drove down to the scene.

The line rescue team - trained to deal with incidents such as cliff rescue - were able to secure the girl, using a pulley system which took her weight, and walk her down the ladder. She was treated at the scene by ambulance staff but did not require hospital treatment.

Shocked friends of the teenager said they did not wish to discuss the incident.

Group manager Mike Partington, Tollcross fire station commander, admitted it was the first time the team had ever had to rescue a person from a tree, and said the incident could have been very serious.

"It isn't clear why the girl was in the tree in the first place, but after climbing to a height of around 20 feet she suffered what we believe was an epileptic seizure, and she's lucky she didn't fall, as she could have been seriously injured," he said. "The first crew on the scene climbed up to her and made sure she was stable and secure. From what I've been told, she was still very groggy and certainly affected by the seizure, but she was otherwise unhurt.

"After we had secured her, the line rescue team put up a second ladder and secured the girl with a pulley system.

"We had her weight the whole time, as there was a concern that she might have had another seizure on the way down, so we needed to make sure she would be OK."

Mr Partington praised the work of his team, who he said had demonstrated the benefit of specialist training.

"This is the first time certainly that I've been involved in where we've had to rescue a person from a tree, and the training they had has been used to help people stuck on the Crags or Castle Rock.

"This shows they can adapt those skills to what was a very tricky situation, and I'm pleased the rescue went so well, and the girl seems OK."