A WOMAN was lifted 200ft to the top of Lydford Gorge last Saturday after breaking her ankle along a lower footpath in the beauty spot. Two fire engines and the 4x4 vehicle from Tavistock attended the scene just after 2.10pm, along with the specialist line rescue team from Ilfracombe and a support crew from Okehampton. Tavistock fire chief Tim Smith said: ?Given The lady?s injuries it would have been excrutiatingly painful to get her out normally, so we used the line rescue team and a special ski ramp that the National Trust has built for us at the gorge.? The crews administered first aid and assisted the lady onto the National Trust stretcher. The stretcher was then wheeled to a suitable location to enable the line rescue team to set up a hauling system to raise the stretcher 200ft to the top of the gorge. The lady, who was not believed to be local, was taken to hospital by air ambulance.
