A YORK man who fell 130ft in an accident in the Lake District has been named as renowned scientist Professor Sir John Holman.

Sir John, 65, was walking in Sour Milk Ghyll, Borrowdale, on Monday, when he fell about 40 metres, or 131ft.

He was saved by mountain rescue volunteers, the RAF, and the air ambulance.

Sir John is a professor in the chemistry department at the University of York and was the founding director of the National Science Learning Centre in York.

While Sir John suffered what were reported to be major head, chest and back injuries, his condition is not believed to be life- threatening.

A spokesman for the Keswick Mountain Rescue team said about the accident: “The man walking the Coast to Coast route took a major tumbling fall descending the path down Sour Milk Ghyll. He suffered major head, chest and back injuries. A team member who lived locally was alerted and went direct to the scene...two other vehicles were sent out, and a request was made for an RAF Sea King and an Air Ambulance to effect a quick recovery to hospital.

“Once the casualty was packaged, he was winched out of the ghyll, and flown down to Seathwaite Farm, where he was transferred to the air ambulance. This flew him to the James Cook hospital at Middlesbrough.”

Sir John gained a knighthood for services to education. He was named by the Science Council in 2014 as one of the 100 leading practising and inspirational UK scientists.

He is the senior adviser in education at the Wellcome Trust and the Gatsby Foundation. Sir John was adviser to the Government as National Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) director from 2006 until September 2010.

Keswick Mountain Rescue’s team leader Chris Higgins said: “It was not a straightforward rescue by any stretch. The weather was pretty awful, it had been raining most of the afternoon, it was fairly windy, and the rocks were slippery.

“It’s fantastic that the helicopters were able to fly in those conditions.”

The University of York and the Wellcome Trust declined to comment on the accident.