Experienced climber suffered life threatening bleed after falling at notorious chain walk

Jo Randall, an experienced boulderer, was tackling the the Elie Chain walk in Fife, when she plunged to the ground.

An experienced climber was airlifted to hospital with a "life-threatening bleed" after plunging five metres from the cliffs on Fife’s notorious Elie Chain walk.

Jo Randall, from Edinburgh, was scrambling along the challenging coastal route on Sunday, March 9, when she veered off the main route and grabbed onto loose rock. It gave way, sending her tumbling onto jagged stones below.

“I pulled a loose piece of rock off and fell about five metres,” Jo explained "I managed the landing as best as I could, but I landed on rocks that were all over the place and really uneven, which meant when I fell, I kind of went knee and then head."

Bleeding heavily from her head and unable to move her leg, Jo’s friend scrambled down to reach her before calling 999 for the Coastguard.

Volunteer crews from the RNLI Anstruther Lifeboat Station raced to the scene, with Tam Bett, a helm at the station, saying they were "preparing for the worst".

The crew launched their D class lifeboat and carefully navigated through jagged rocks to reach Jo, who was lying at the base of the cliffs, covered in coats, as passers-by tried to keep her warm.

Her leg injury quickly became the main concern, as blood gushed from the wound. "She’d been moved from where she’d originally landed, which helped us to rule out any serious spinal injuries," Tam said.

"She was alert and complaining of pain in her leg. We had to cut open her leggings, and that’s when we realised her knee was actually the main concern, not her head injury - she had a life-threatening bleed."

The team bandaged Jo's leg to steam the bleeding and gave her oxygen and pain relief while they waited for help.

A Coastguard rescue helicopter from Prestwick winched Jo to safety and flew her to hospital in Glasgow. Her friend was taken ashore by lifeboat and reunited with his car so he could join her at the hospital.

Jo suffered a broken patella, ruptured tendon and fractured cheekbone. Five months later, Jo said she is still recovering from the traumatic incident.

She said: "I keep replaying the accident in my head over and over again. If I had landed on my back or damaged my neck, it could have been so much worse, so I think I got off pretty lightly with a broken knee and face.

"I can’t express how grateful I am to everyone who helped me, especially Anstruther lifeboat crew. They are volunteers giving up their time to save lives, and I’d do anything to give back what I could so they can keep on going.

Jo is now warning other climbers and walkers to stick to the marked route. “Stay on the path and don’t go off-piste. Even though a rock may look secure, it could be treacherous – freak accidents happen.”

Anstruther Lifeboat Station said rescues from the Chainwalk are among their most common call-outs, with incidents ranging from people trapped by tides to serious falls.

Tam added: “It was exhausting but we worked as a team to give Jo the care she needed. It always feels good when you’re able to help someone.”