Firefighters cut free man stuck on golf course cliffs

The man, who was 53, had been collecting golf balls when his foot got stuck between two rocks on the cliffside at around 9.30am yesterday.

He called for help from passers-by who helped to raise the alarm, and had to be chipped free of the rocks 30 metres up.

Braid Hills course staff member Zizi Dailly said: “I got a call from a golfer who heard the man yelling help from the cliffs and then called me to see what I could do and I called the Princes golf course, just because they’ve got a buggy so I thought he could go and check quickly.

“He closed up shop, went to see what happened and said ‘You’re going to need to call the fire brigade, because I can’t reach the guy’.”

Fraser Pullar, of the nearby Princes Golf course, who Ms Dailly had enlisted to help, said: “I just walked down to the side of the Braids where the man was reported to be and I saw him halfway up the cliff and I shouted up to him.

“He replied that his leg was jammed in between two rocks, and he couldn’t move. There was no way that I could get up to him so I called back to the Braids to call the fire and get a fire engine to come out.

“Six of them came down and they cut their way through all the gorse bushes and managed to get to him. They couldn’t pull him out, so I think they had a wee hammer and chisel and chipped away at the rock and got him free.

“He managed to walk free after that. They sat him down for five minutes to see if he was all right, and then he walked off fine.”

Mr Pullar said he did not know the man, but recognised him as a regular visitor to the club, who would often collect golf balls and sell them on to players on the course.

A fire service spokeswoman said: “We were called to a male that got himself into difficulty on cliffs on Braid Hills Golf Course.

“He got into difficulty retrieving golf balls. He was 30 metres up, but he got himself trapped by the foot. We had to chip away the rock to free him.

“He was walked to safety and refused medical assistance.”

Both Braid Hills and Princes golf courses are operated by Edinburgh Leisure. Braids in particular is known for its hilly terrain and commanding views over the city.

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