A PENSIONER saved from plunging 100ft off a cliff edge by his rucksack has told of his miraculous escape.

John Mallaby, from Oulston, between Coxwold and York, lost his footing while climbing in the Austrian mountains at Zell am See on Sunday. The 80-year-old had already slipped 500ft down an incline when his backpack snagged on a branch.

He dangled above the cliff face for three hours before his cries for help were heard by Herbert Kagerer, 63, who lives in a remote cottage below the cliff.

He grabbed a rope and climbed up to Mr Mallaby, moving him to safety until rescue services arrived.

Rescuers strapped Mr Mallaby into a harness and lowered him down the steeper stretches of the hillside.

He was able to walk the final few yards to the ambulance unaided and was treated for cuts and bruises.

Speaking from his hotel after the rescue, he said: "It's all very embarrassing. I've been walking in the mountains all my life and have been coming to this region for 15 years.

"My wife died last year but she always loved it here and I decided this year to come on my own. It's so beautiful and has a lot of memories."

He said he had decided to take a different path from usual.

"But my legs just gave way beneath me. It was steeper than I thought. I rolled down the hill like a hedgehog. I thought there was a house below me. But there was also a cliff and it's lucky I was caught by the tree that stopped me going over the edge."