A woman who fell onto rocks while abseiling in Orkney returned to thank the crew who helped save her life.
Louise Houghton was climbing the cliffs at Yesnaby in Orkney last May with her partner Allan Evans when the incident happened.
She fell onto rocks and was knocked unconscious into the sea.
Mr Evans and another member of the climbing party managed to pull Ms Houghton out of the water before RNLI Stromness lifeboat arrived.
Coastguard teams from Stromness and Kirkwall and the Rescue 900 helicopter from Shetland were also dispatched to the scene.
The lifeboat team used a small inflatable Y-boat to get into the cliffs and administered first aid, strapping up suspected broken bones, before transferring Ms Houghton onto the main larger boat.
The coastguard helicopter then took her to Balfour Hospital in Orkney before she was transferred to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
Made friends for life
Ms Houghton spent a total of three months in hospital after the fall.
After her initial care in Aberdeen she was transferred closer to home to Salford, where she took her first steps on crutches.
The “positive and determined” adventurer has now built up to do eight-mile walks, some jogging and even a bit of gentle hill-walking.
She recently travelled back to Orkney from her home in Wigan to meet with and thank those who helped save her life.
Returning with her partner, parents, sisters, friend and Tilly the dog, Ms Houghton said she did not feel thanking them was enough for what they did.
However, crew said they were “deeply appreciative” of the visit and said friends for life had been made.
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