The rescue took place high on the Carn Mòr Dearg Arête. Image: MCA

A walker was airlifted from a ridge on Britain’s highest mountain after becoming ill.

The tricky operation by the crew of the Coastguard helicopter involved using a long winch line to minimise the risk of blowing the man off the ridge with the aircraft’s downwash.

The Inverness-based Sikorksy S-92 flew to the scene on the Carn Mòr Dearg Arête, east of Ben Nevis’s summit, on Monday after being alerted by police at 2.25pm.

A Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokesperson said: “The Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team had mustered together very quickly but given the time it would have taken to bring him to safety, the UK Coastguard helicopter was called in.

“The casualty was airlifted to Torlundy and taken to hospital by the Scottish Ambulance Service. We understand that he is now safe and well which is great news.”

The Coastguard released footage of the rescue, which took place about 1,060m (3,478ft) up on the ridge, which links Carn Mòr Dearg with Ben Nevis.

Paramedic winchman Scott Sharman said that despite it being a beautiful clear day the winch was particularly challenging due to its isolated location and the length of the winch needed to ensure the walking party’s safety.

He said: “It was an extremely steep ridge and we needed to make sure we kept at a safe distance because the downdraft could very easily have blown them over the ridge.”