A Fife man has told how a mobile app saved his life after he fell 15ft down cliffs after a party.
Mikey Hutton was left stranded on rocks for more than three hours after falling off the Fife Coastal Path in Burntisland, as he returned from a get-together on Saturday night.
The 32-year-old had walked off the cliff in darkness after getting disorientated.
App led police to scene
His brother raised the alarm, but as time ticked on – and with a rising tide just a few feet away – emergency rescue crews struggled to find his whereabouts.
That was until police asked Mikey to download the what3words app to his mobile phone.
The app – which provides a unique three-word phrase for every 3m square in the world – led officers and a coastguard helicopter to his location.
The rescue was filmed by Kinghorn lifeboat crew members.
Mikey, who suffered no serious injuries in the fall, told The Courier: “Without doubt I would not be alive now if it wasn’t for the app.
“I owe my life to that app.”
Mikey, a labourer, got into trouble when he failed to get off the train at Kinghorn – and had to alight at Burntisland instead.
“Having had a few drinks I set off walking back to Kinghorn, but quickly became very disorientated and set off in the wrong direction,” he said.
I had no idea where I was, other than that the sea was just a few feet away
“I was talking to my brother via video call when I suddenly felt myself falling.
“With it being dark I had no idea where I was, other than that the sea was just a few feet away.
“I initially thought I had broken either my leg or my back because of the shooting pains, and I was wedged between rocks.
“Police were telling me to keep screaming out for help but nobody came for over three hours.
“Then I was told to download the app which pinpointed exactly where I was.”
Mikey says he was “overwhelmed” when police finally found him.
He said: “A policeman clambered down the cliff to assist me while the coastguard helicopter used its search light.
“From there I was eventually transferred to the lifeboat, as it was too dangerous to airlift me from the rocks.
Saved from ‘almost certain death’
“The emergency crews were astounded that I came away with just a few grazes and a sore back, given the distance I fell.”
Mikey now wants to use his lucky escape to encourage others to download the app.
He added: “It’s amazing that such a simple thing saved me from almost certain death.
“I shudder to think what might have happened, had it not helped the emergency crews to find me when they did.”
