A hermit has again been rescued from an isolated Scottish forest after his distress signal was picked up in the US.
Ken Smith made headlines almost a year earlier after the same thing happened when he fell ill.
This time, Ken, who is in his 70s and lives “off grid” in a remote part of Lochaber, was injured when a log pile collapsed on him on Saturday.
Four members of Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team were airlifted by Coastguard helicopter to Glen Nevis.
Donald Paterson, deputy leader of Lochaber MRT, said Ken was conscious and had suffered head and chest injuries.
He said: “He did the right thing in activating his personal emergency beacon. It is linked to an American satellite and then relayed from the US to UK coastguards.
“He had minor injuries but he is elderly. He had been out collecting logs and the pile came down
on him.”
Ken was flown to Belford Hospital in Fort William, where he had been treated on February 3 last year.
He had fallen ill while in his log cabin, a two-hour walk from the nearest road, on the edge of Rannoch Moor, by Loch Treig.
His distress signal was passed by International Emergency Response Co-ordination Centre in Houston, Texas, to HM Coastguard Mission Control Centre in Fareham, Hampshire, which sent out the Prestwick-based Coastguard helicopter.
Ken was airlifted to hospital after Lochaber MRT helped to carry him to a safe area.
