This St Davids Day, a climber who fell 40ft causing catastrophic injuries including fractures to her neck, spine and leg, is thanking RNLI volunteers who saved her life.

Vicki Hau, 37, was climbing at the headland of Trwyn Llech-y-Doll in the Llŷn Peninsula in May last year, when the rock face gave way.

Vicki said: “Something – if not everything – broke. I went flying. I remember flipping upside down, then boom! I must have blacked-out for a few seconds because the next thing I can remember was my friend, Neil, in front of me, my arms, the ropes, the boulders around me, covered in blood. I was trying to sit up and move my limbs. But I could feel my left lower leg was broken; any attempted movement resulted in nothing but intense pain.”

Neil covered her with his jacket but, realising there was no mobile phone signal, ran up the side of the cliff to call 999 before heading back to his friend. Vicki said: “I looked at my leg, the blood, my surroundings and accepted my reality. At least I was alive.”

The RNLI inshore lifeboat from Abersoch was launched while HM Coastguard rescue teams were dispatched to the clifftop.

With a clifftop or helicopter rescue by the Coastguard deemed too dangerous, the Atlantic 85 lifeboat was skilfully manoeuvred by Helm Andy Gunby so his crew and a paramedic could be dropped ashore to reach Vicki.

Abersoch RNLI Crew Member, Phill Wood, said: “Vicki was surprisingly calm – she told me that she was an emergency room doctor. She had a dent in her helmet, a cut above her right eye, and her leg was clearly broken.

“We needed to carry Vicki on a stretcher, through the water, to the lifeboat. We were lucky that the sea wasn’t rough – but it was deep in places.”

Onboard the lifeboat, the Coastguard paramedic continued to assess Vicki as they headed to a nearby beach, so she could be airlifted to Bangor Hospital.

Vicki, who recently returned to the lifeboat station to meet the volunteer crew who helped save her life that day said: “It transpired I had sustained a neck fracture, multiple thoracic spinal fractures needing surgery, plus a multi-fragmented left tibial fracture which needed a nail – from my knee down to my ankle.

“I wish all those with a tie to Wales a Happy St David's Day, especially the Abersoch RNLI crew. On a day that celebrates all that is great in Wales, they are definitely up there.

“St David's advice to "Do the little things" emphasises how small, considerate actions can make a huge difference. The time and commitment of RNLI volunteers is inevitably what helped save my life.

“So let's raise a glass and ‘Gwnewch y pethau bychain mewn bywyd!’

“I've been told many times how lucky I am to have got out of there in one piece, with no lasting brain or spinal injuries.

“I'm forever grateful to all those involved in the rescue.”