A man has made a miracle escape after plunging into rocks near a Scots coastline - leaving his pet dog stranded on the shoreline.
Coastguard crews were scrambled from Invergordon at around 2.30pm on Sunday, March 6 after the alarm was raised.
The man, who had been with his Spaniel named Hunter at the time, slipped on the South Sutor.
It's understood the man had slipped on the hillside, which marks the entrance to the Cromarty Firth, onto the jagged rocks below.
Rescue teams were in a race against time to trace the man and his pet, unaware of how severe his injuries may be.
Eagle-eyed rescuers quickly spotted the man on the rocks after scouring the shoreline.
He was evacuated by lifeboat to an ambulance that had been on standby at nearby Cromarty Harbour.
But rescue crews' work wasn't done, as a now panicked Hunter remained stuck on the shoreline without his owner.
The lifeboat returned to the scene where the dog was taken to safety and happily reunited with his owner in the Harbour.
Despite his fall, RNLI say the man managed to escape with just minor injuries after his ordeal.
A spokesperson for RNLI said: "The Volunteer crew assembled and Shannon Class Lifeboat ‘RNLI Agnes AP Barr’ RNLI 13-37 which holds 9500 names as part of the RNLI Launch a Memory campaign, left harbour making best speed up the Cromarty Firth and round the South Sutor, the south of the two headlands which mark the entrance to the Cromarty Firth.
"Arriving on scene shortly after launching, the search began for a male who had slipped on the screed hillside and landed on rocks below, with potential injuries.
"The Shannon’s XEP Inflatable Daughter Craft was deployed upon locating the casualty on the shoreline with two first aid crew onboard to assess the situation.
"With minor injuries reported, the casualty was evacuated to the all-weather Lifeboat which made best speed back to an awaiting Ambulance waiting at Cromarty Harbour, where he was fully accessed by the Scottish Ambulance Service crew.
"With Kessock RNLI also on scene, the all-weather lifeboat then made the trip back to the scene, to collect the two crewmembers who had returned to the shore to undertake another rescue, this time however it was an eager but slightly panicked spaniel called Hunter who was patiently waiting to be reunited with his owner.
"With Hunter reunited safely at Cromarty Harbour with his owner, the Lifeboat was released from service and made the journey back to her Invergordon’s West Harbour berth where the lifeboat was washed down, refuelled, cleaned to COVID-19 guidelines, and made ready for service shortly after 5:30pm."
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