A man says he “had one hour to live” when he was rescued by the coastguard after becoming trapped in a mudslide.
Matt Halliday had gone for a walk along the Corsewall Loop in Dumfries and Galloway to clear his head when the weather suddenly worsened.
Matt contracted hypothermia and attempted to take cover, only for a mudslide to cause the shelter to collapse, knocking him unconscious.
The 51-year-old woke to find he was “engulfed by a mudslide” but managed to crawl over rocks before calling 999.
The father-of-four was airlifted to hospital after a 14-hour ordeal and thanked coastguard officers for helping to save him.
The sign writer hopes that by sharing his story a year on, he can ensure others “do not take anything for granted”.
Matt told the Daily Record : "On February 4 last year I'd received a bit of bad news. I was already on furlough so wanted to go out a walk to clear my head.
"I know the area, near Stranraer, really well and it's popular with dog walkers and locals.
“I had appropriate clothing and a fully-charged phone, I planned to be home within the hour as a storm was coming in later that day. Little did I know how things would turn out.”
After realising the tide had come in, Matt's walk took a turn for the worse.
"I took shelter under a kind of overhang of tree trunks and other materials," he added.
"That was the last thing I remembered before waking up."
A mudslide caused the shelter to collapse on top of him and he was knocked unconscious. Several hours later, he woke to find his body engulfed in mud from the landslide on the cliff edge.
Struggling out of the mud, his legs gave way so the dad was forced to crawl across a rocky area before dialling 999.
"I wasn't fully with it, so I don't think I fully understood what had happened," he added.
"I feel worse for my wife Fiona, and friends who were out looking for me.
"I'd been away since 9am and didn't get to hospital till 11pm that night - that's how long I was out there for.
"It must have been terrifying for them."
Emergency crews found Matt later that night and airlifted him to Galloway Hospital where his severe hypothermia was treated and he was released the next morning.
"Had the coastguard arrived an hour later I would be dead," Matt said.
"I owe them my life, they are my heroes."
To thank mercy crews Matt walked 22 miles over four days, raising nearly £2,700 for charities that assist HM Coastguard.
With Storm Dudley set to sweep across Scotland this week, Matt has warned others to take care while out along the coastline.
"Don't take anything for granted," he added.
"Check the weather forecast, wear the right clothing and don't go out alone if you're not in a good frame of mind.
"Anything can happen."
Senior Coastal Operations Officer Richard Morgans said: “It doesn’t matter how well you know an area and even the best prepared of people can still get caught out on our coasts.
"Luck was just not on Matt’s side that day and it was a combination of small events that led to the perfect storm that caught him out.
"We’d say that if anyone’s in trouble around our coasts at any time of the day or night, just give us a call on 999.
"Even if you don’t think it’s life-critical, a situation can escalate in seconds and that call could just save a life.”
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