A MAN was hospitalised on Saturday, July 1, after injuring his back when he fell on rocks at Freshwater East, near Pembroke.

St Govan's Coastguard rescue team was asked to assist in the recovery and evacuation of the injured man, arriving at midday.

Having sustained back injuries, and in a confined and difficult location, St Govan's Coastguard Rescue Team volunteers used the on-board equipment and assisted the paramedics in accessing and extracting the man.

Station Officer Gareth Jones said: “This was a tricky job today, with the casualty in a tightly confined area and in pain, we had to use a roll up full body splint to access him and then a transfer to a lightweight stretcher for the journey across the beach to the ambulance.

“Thankfully the police were on scene to help, and they were brilliant. It would have been a long day without their help."

Once the patient was safely in the care of paramedics from Wales Ambulance Service NHS Trust, Milford Haven Coastguard Operations Centre stood down the volunteers, and they returned to station.

A Welsh Ambulance Services spokesman said: “We were called shortly after 11.50am on July 1 to reports that a man had fallen and injured himself on rocks on Freshwater East beach near Pembroke.

“We sent a crew in an emergency ambulance and a man was taken to Withybush General Hospital in Haverfordwest with non-life-threatening injuries.”