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An 18-year-old Dunedin man is recovering in Dunedin Hospital after crashing a child's quad bike over a cliff yesterday.
Sergeant Dave Scott said the man was riding the bike in Church Street, Port Chalmers, when he crashed off the road.
"The male fell a number of metres down a cliff before landing on a narrow ledge that broke his fall and likely saved his life," Mr Scott said.
"Had the rider missed the ledge, his fall would have been substantially larger and potentially fatal."
The man suffered a suspected broken ankle and was trapped on the ledge.
Police used abseiling equipment belonging to the man - an arbourist who had gear in his vehicle parked nearby - to rescue him.
"A police constable, with training in abseiling, used the equipment to abseil down to the injured male and secure him before beginning to treat his injuries."
The man was taken to Dunedin Hospital.
- NZPA
