A dog walker was rescued by helicopter after he fell down a cliff in East Lothian.

The man, understood to be in his 70s, was winched to safety after he fell 20ft from a narrow path and suffered serious head injuries

An ambulance helicopter and an RAF Sea King were sent to Whitberry Point shortly after 8am on Thursday.

The badly-injured man had to be airlifted before the rapidly-incoming tide forced them back.

An eyewitness said the sea was "lapping around" the OAP as he was finally taken to safety by the Sea King around two and a half hours later.

The man was airlifted to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary at 10.40am.

One eyewitness said: "I saw the man lying still. I don't know if he was paralysed but he certainly wasn't moving.

"I was there from about 8.30am and I could see medics and police working around him with the incoming tide lapping around him.

"They were at it for about two hours before the Sea King arrived at about 10.30am and took him up with two medics who were treating him."

A spokesman for the Scottish Ambulance Service said: "We received a call around 8am this morning. The incident involved a walker who fell onto some rocks and is still receiving medical support."

A Lothian and Borders Police spokeswomen said: "We can confirm there was an incident involving a walker near Dunbar. Police were alerted by the Ambulance services at 8.15am and officers have been on site.”

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