The man had been walking at the Mallyan Spout waterfall when he slipped on rocks at the base and suffered a suspected fractured pelvis.

An RAF Sea King helicopter was used to airlift the man to Scarborough Hospital.

The two-and-a-half hour rescue took place after the man slipped near the bottom of the 70ft waterfall in the village on Saturday.

Paramedics from the Yorkshire Ambulance Service were called to the scene shortly after 2.30pm, but discovered they could not gain access to the spot where the patient was lying injured.

A 15-strong team from Scarborough and Ryedale Mountain Rescue Team (SRMRT) was also called.

A rescue helicopter crew from RAF Leconfield in East Yorkshire was called in at 3.45pm before the man was winched aboard and flown to Scarborough Hospital for treatment.

Master Air Crewman Harry Harrison was the winchman for the helicopter crew. He said the location of the casualty made the rescue tricky.

He said: "It had been decided by the ambulance and mountain rescue team that the best way to move the man was by helicopter.

"Due to the tightness of the location, with lots of trees, I was dropped at the top of the waterfall and made my own way down.

"Paramedics had made the man comfortable and the mountain rescue team had placed him on one of their stretchers and had moved him to a more exposed location.

"It was a very tricky winch and we had to take our time. We used our full length rope which is 245 feet long, that gives you an idea of how far away the helicopter had to be.

"All the crews worked very well together."

Andy Crossley, team leader at SRMRT said the rescue had gone very well.

"We had the equipment to remove the man but we felt given the terrain it would be very uncomfortable for him," he said.

"We all worked very well together in what were difficult conditions."

The man was admitted to hospital after a 15 minute flight to be treated for his injuries.