AN INJURED 64-year-old man was hauled up a cliff to safety on Wednesday night in a joint rescue by firefighters and a coastguard team.

The man had got into difficulty 35ft down a 45ft steep gullied incline on a cliff behind Windy Corner Car Park near St Catherine's Point, Old Blackgang Road, Niton, on the Island's southern tip.

It is thought the man got into difficulty as he tried to climb from the shoreline up to the car park at an area of the cliff face that had fallen away to leave a steep incline.

He suffered a sprained wrist and cut legs when he fell during his attempted ascent.

Mark Bridgeman, deputy station officer with Ventnor Coastguard, climbed down the cliff and attached a safety harness to the man who was then winched up the cliff face with the help of firemen.

He was taken to hospital by ambulance and released after treatment.

Mike Forsyth-Caffrey, coastguard sector manager for the Island, said it was lucky the man was found before nightfall.

"He was dressed in shorts and a shirt, which was fine for the day but not for a chilly night.

"Had the alarm not been raised then he may not have been quite so well."

He also praised the co-operation between the emergency services present.

"We have had three multi-agency exercises in the past 18 months and we are really getting to know what each of the services can do," he said.

Station officer Steve Apter, the most senior firemen dealing with the incident, said: "The pleasing thing was how well all the services combined to carry out the rescue."