Climber praised by rescuers for saving friend injured in fall

A SCOTS climber has been hailed a "hero" by mountain rescuers for abseiling 150ft and trekking for two hours in the dark to help save his injured friend.

Paul Manson, 32, from Edinburgh, told how he had known he had to "do something" to stop his friend Sam Burns from freezing after he fell in the Cairngorms.

The pair had been climbing on crags near Shelter Stone when the accident happened at around 4pm on Saturday.

Almost at the top, Mr Burns, 25, fell and was left dangling from the cliff face by safety ropes. He had broken his hip and leg. Mr Manson abseiled down to his friend and was able to cut a seat in the snow before moving Mr Burns on to it. He then walked down through a gully for two hours to fetch help.

Cairngorms Mountain Rescue Team leader Willie Anderson said:

"Without his cool mind and ability it could have been a very different outcome."