A RESCUE helicopter winched a man with serious head injuries to safety after he fell 20ft down a mountain in Snowdonia over the weekend.

The male was scrambling down the Idwal Slabs descent route on Sunday afternoon, having completed a climb with two companions, when he slipped and fell approximately 20m into a gully.

One of his friends was a doctor and requested urgent assistance as the casualty was unconscious with potentially serious injuries.

A spokesperson for the Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue team said: "The Coastguard Helicopter, which was already airborne, went direct to scene whilst team members also deployed.

"The winchman and TMs were able to stabilise the casualty, package him in a vacmat and stretcher, and then he was flown direct to Stoke Trauma centre due to the potential serious nature of his injuries."

The video above shows the coastguard helicopter hovering overhead while rescuers secure the casualty before he is then winched up and flown to hospital.