A TREE worker was the Cave Rescue Organisation's first rescue of the year after he fell 30 feet over a crag near Ingleborough Cave on Saturday.

The man was undertaking tree work within the dry gill near to the entrance of the cave. While walking across the site, he lost his footing and slipped down a steep grassy slope and over the edge of a small vertical crag – sliding and falling about 10 metres in total.

He was cared for by CRO team members; then splinted and placed in a vacuum mattress to stabilise possible injuries to his back and legs. In the meantime, a crew from Yorkshire Ambulance Service had managed to drive their ambulance to the show cave entrance. The injured man had only a short journey in a stretcher, on board a CRO Landrover, before he was handed into the care of paramedics.

Total volunteers hours - 22.