‘I fell 160ft and Prince William rescued me’

MHLC-27-03-13 Mountain rescue Mar96
Matt Holtom, who lives in Hatton, was rescued by the RAF after slipping down Snowdon and dislocating his shoulder on Monday. It is believed that Prince William was co-piloting the helicopter in which he and his friends were airlifted. He is now out of hospital but still in Wales. — MHLC-27-03-13 Mountain rescue Mar96 Matt Holtom, who lives in Hatton, was rescued by the RAF after slipping down Snowdon and dislocating his shoulder on Monday. It is believed that Prince William was co-piloting the helicopter in which he and his friends were airlifted. He is now out of hospital but still in Wales.

Twenty-year-old Matt Holtom, who lives in Hatton and works in Leamington, slipped and fell as he and two of his friendswere climbing Snowdon.

He escaped with just a dislocated shoulder.

Speaking from Bryn Tyrch, where the friends are staying, he said: “A lot of people might think that walking up Snowdon in freezing and snowy weather is a silly thing to do, but I have been up many times. I’m quite experienced and we were well prepared. We got up quite high, then all of a sudden, I hit some sharp ice and fell and could not stop. I genuinely thought I was going to die. It was that bad.”

Prince William and Kate - The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visit the offices of Child Bereavement UK at the Clare Foundation in Saunderton - meeting the Bereavement Services Team

Matt’s friends watched him slide around 40m - and then fall off a cliff edge.

He said: “It was terrifying - I thought, this is it, I’m gone.

“I think I landed on my shoulder when I fell off the cliff edge, but luckily I landed on snow and was able to dig my heels into the ground and make a bit of a hole to sit in.”

Nathan and Dean made their way down to Matt and immediately called the Llanberis Mountain Rescue team. They thought they might be able to walk to a safer spot, but the conditions were too icy.

And because there was too much snow to enable the team’s Land Rover to make its way up the mountain, Matt was forced to endure his pain for a gruelling two-and-a-half hours while the rescuers made their way up to him and called the Anglesey-based RAF Valley - where Prince William works - for assistance.

Matt said: “We had plenty of clothing but it was very cold and I was in absolute agony.

“I was so relieved to see the helicopter. All I could think about was the pain.”

The three men were airlifted to hospital in Bangor, where Matt received treatment. He was discharged that evening. It was only afterwards that the group learnt that one of their rescuers had been the heir to the throne.

Matt’s mother Anita Holtom said: “Nathan called me on Monday afternoon. I was shocked and very worried. I heard from Matt later in the evening and he told me how frightened he had been. We will be very glad to see him come home.

“He has been into mountain walking since he was a little boy. This won’t put him off.”

Phil Benbow, the secretary and spokesman for the volunteer-run Llanberis Mountain Rescue team, said after the incident: “It might well not be so cold where you are, but the conditions here are very wintry. Anybody planning to go up the mountain over the Easter holiday should have an ice axe and crampons and the ability to use them, as well as warm clothing, spare clothing and spare food - or consider valley walking instead.”