A climber was airlifted to hospital last night after plunging more than 30ft from a north-east cliff.
It is understood that the man, thought to be in his 50s, was climbing with his son when he slipped and plummeted from the height.
Coastguard crews were scrambled to Redhythe Point, west of Portsoy, shortly after 6pm.
A helicopter was sent from Inverness, and the man was winched from the foot of the cliff at about 8pm with a suspected broken leg.
A spokesman for the service said: “The helicopter was able to come in and lift the man from the bottom.
“He was then taken into it and flown to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness for treatment.
“He had fallen about 30ft and injured his leg.”
Police officers and paramedics joined several coastguard units at the scene, and a lifeboat crew from Macduff was also dispatched.
One witness described the blustery conditions that the emergency services encountered as personnel battled to safely lift the man from his predicament.
He said: “It was freezing and extremely windy, but the crews seemed to know what they were doing and managed to safely rescue the man.”
A police spokesman described the rescue as a “joint operation”.
He added: “We were initially called to help pinpoint the location where the man fell, it was a joint operation between ourselves, the coastguard and the ambulance service.
“We are happy to confirm that the man was safely removed from the scene and taken to hospital.”