A SOLDIER has described his gruelling ordeal when he was forced to crawl along the coast for three quarters of a mile in the dark with a broken leg before being rescued by his wife and the RNLI.

Tim Robinson, 54, slipped on a seaweed-covered rock while walking on the beach under Golden Cap on Saturday  afternoon and suffered two fractures to his right leg. After hauling himself along the beach and over mudslides by fashioning walking sticks out of driftwood, he was finally met by his wife, Paula, along with the Lyme Regis RNLI crew and West Bay Coastguard.

Mr Robinson had a torch with him, but no mobile phone. He told The News that after “a few moments of denial and disbelief”, he had no choice but to drag himself along the beach towards Seatown where the Derbyshire couple were staying while on holiday.

He said: “I had told my wife I would be two hours, so no one would be concerned for an hour or so. My choice was to make it back by whatever means available.

Bridport and Lyme Regis News:

“I saw the high water mark littered with driftwood and sticks so started to half crawl and limp along the beach eastward and towards the cliff. I found a small branch and used it to support my right hand.”

He added: “My next option was to crawl over the mudslides as it was steep and slippery and hopping was impractical. It was difficult to maintain the stability of my broken bones, but I kept my two crutch sticks with me. I held the sticks horizontally and used them to forge a way through the undergrowth and thistle.”

Mr Robinson then used his torch to flash SOS in Morse code and swung it around his head to attract attention.

He said: “I would do this then crawl for five minutes and repeat and so on. By now my hands, the torch and most of my legs were covered in mud, so I covered the torch bean with a finger to make it flash.

“I shouted help. I had no reply, but the wind was behind me. I shouted help again and heard a faint voice. My wife had found me.”

After Mrs Robinson discovered her husband after his two-hour ordeal, two first-aid trained RNLI crew members, Tom Crabbe and Tom Wallis, went ashore to help coastguards assess his condition, before he was transported to Lyme Regis Harbour. A waiting ambulance took him to Dorset County Hospital where he is being treated for his broken leg.

Bridport and Lyme Regis News:

Jake Lanning, rescue officer for West Bay Coastguard, said: “Working with the RNLI crew, the Coastguard Officers stabilised the casualty’s leg with splints and fracture straps, and kept the casualty warm and in good spirits.

“As the Coastguard rescue helicopter was not available due to fog, evacuation via the lifeboat to Lyme Regis was deemed as being the best option for getting the casualty the quickest onward medical care.”

Mr Robinson, who is a full time member of the Territorial Army, thanked his rescuers.

“Everyone was just terrific,” he said.

Jon Broome, who was in charge of the lifeboat for the first time since qualifying as a helm said:”It was a very well organised rescue by all involved.”