A WOMAN had to be lifted to safety by rope rescue crews after falling down a hill and breaking her ankle near Tidenham Chase last week.

Emergency services were called to respond at around 6pm on Monday, November 28 following a report that a woman had fallen near the Tidenham Tunnel on the Wye Valley Greenway, the 5-mile footpath and cycleway that connects Sedbury, Chepstow and Tintern.

Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service (GFRS) sent two rescue crews to the scene, one from Coleford and one from Lydney.

Following a rendezvous with the South Western Ambulance Service (SWAS) at the closest address, Tidenham Chase Court, the teams assisted with rope rescue to lift the woman 40 metres to safety.

A GFRS spokesperson said the rescue was completed at 8.57pm - nearly three hours after the call was initially put in to the fire service.

She was then handed over to the care of the ambulance service.

The fire crews left the scene at 10.19pm.

A post on the GFRS Twitter page, Glosfire, just after 9.30pm said: “Crews from Lydney & Coleford have worked with @swasFT to rescue a female who had broken her ankle & needed to be lifted 40m, this required our line rescue teams to assist moving her back to a safe platform to be taken for treatment. Great collaboration.”