A WOMAN had a narrow escape when she fell asleep on a clifftop - then fell over the edge as a good Samaritan went to help her.

The well-meaning passer-by went to check whether she was alright and woke her up. But the slumbering woman got such a shock that she rolled over and disappeared down the cliff at Frenchman's Bay, South Shields, South Tyneside.

She fell about halfway down and landed on a rocky outcrop 30ft above the sea.

Police, ambulance, fire crews, coastguard rescue teams from Sunderland and a helicopter from RAF Boulmer, in Northumberland, were all alerted and rescuers found her trapped on the rocks - but not badly hurt.

The RAF were about to winch her to safety when she told them she was afraid of flying.

So two firefighters scaled the rocks and put her on a stretcher.

She was roped to safety and paramedics treated her for head and spinal injuries before taking her to South Tyneside District Hospital.

Humber Coastguard watch officer Mike Puplett said: "There was an almost empty vodka bottle next to where this person had been lying. We would like to praise the quick-thinking of the passer-by who tried to wake her, as she remained calm and gave very accurate directions to locate the casualty."