A paraglider has suffered "serious" injuries after crashing on the Blorenge, near Abergavenny.

Gwent Police said they received a report of a paraglider having crashed at 1.20pm this afternoon.

According to police, the male glider suffered serious injuries to his leg.

Mountain Rescue were contacted and assisted in extracting the injured man, who was winched off the mountain before being taken to hospital.

A spokesman from the Welsh ambulance service said a male in his 30s was taken to Neville Hall hospital by a rescue helicopter, with possible fractures.

An onlooker, who doesn't wish to be named, said: "There was a conspicuous orange flare against the hillside and I saw the helicopter. I couldn't understand how the helicopter would get close to them as the hill is so steep."

Steve Nelmes, from Blaenavon, was walking in the area with his camera at the time and managed to capture the action. He said: "I was just out for a walk. I saw the RAF helicopter go over the top so I thought I'd have a wander up."
Mr Nelmes' photographs show the paraglider being winched into an RAF helicopter.

The Blorenge mountain, overlooking Abergavenny, is known to be one of the best handgliding and paragliding sites in Britain.