A paraglider was airlifted to hospital suffering serious leg and back injuries after crashing into the cliffs at Weybourne at the weekend.

Coastguard rescue teams from Sheringham, Cley, Wells and Cromer raced to the scene, along with paramedics and the in-shore lifeboat, after the alarm was raised on Saturday, around 4.45pm.

They were guided to the casualty, believed to be a local man, by paragliders still in the air.

Ryan Warwick, a paramedic from Norfolk Accident Rescue Service (NARS), found him motionless on the beach.

A Coastguard helicopter and air ambulance were scrambled and the paraglider was airlifted to the Norfolk & Norwich Hospital in a serious but stable condition.

However, the rescuers had to use a PA system to ask the remaining paragliders to come down to clear the way for the helicopters' arrival.

Mike Puplett, Humber Coastguard Watch Manager, said: 'It involved a lot of personnel.

'Once we located the casualty we liaised with the ambulance service to find the best way for evacuation and, after some discsusion, if was decided that the helimed would take him to hospital.'

The alarm was raised by a member of the public who alerted the ambulance service.

A NARS spokesperson said: 'NARS Critical Care paramedic Ryan Warwick was dispatched by the EEAST Critical Care Desk to an incident involving a paraglider at the cliffs at Weybourne.

'Ryan was the first on scene and treated the patient, who was a the bottom of the cliffs. Ryan found the patient had incurred serious leg injuries and provided sedation and enhanced pain relief.'