A PENSIONER from North Yorkshire had an astonishing escape when his rucksack caught in a tree as he hurtled towards a cliff face in a fall in the Austrian mountains.

Only his backpack stopped John Edward Mallaby, 80, from plunging 100ft on to rocks after he lost his footing while walking.

Mr Mallaby, 80, of Oulston, between Coxwold and York, had already slipped 500 ft down a sheer incline when he was slowed by bushes and his rucksack snagged on a branch.

The fall left him dangling for three hours before his desperate cries for help were answered.

Herbert Kagerer, 63, who lives in a remote cottage below the cliff, said the calls were "fairly faint" when he heard them.

"I realised straight away he was in serious trouble. He could have fallen at any time."

Mr Kagerer grabbed a rope and climbed up to Mr Mallaby, moving him to safety until rescue services arrived.

"He was in a pretty bad way. He had a bad cut to the head and had damaged his leg as well, but was able to move. There is no doubt the rucksack saved his life. If he had fallen over the edge he would have died."

Rescue services strapped Mr Mallaby into a harness and lowered him down the steeper stretches of the hillside.

He was able to walk the final few feet to the ambulance unaided and was treated for cuts and bruises.

Mr Mallaby is a former teacher and production planning manager for ICI, and a keen walker.

Speaking from his hotel after the drama, he admitted: "It's all very embarrassing.

"I've been walking in the mountains all my life and have been coming to this region for 15 years. My wife died last year but she always loved it here and I decided this year to come on my own. It's so beautiful and has a lot of memories."

He said he had decided to take a different path from usual.

"But my legs just gave way beneath me. It was steeper than I thought. I rolled down the hill like a hedgehog. I thought there was a house below me. But there was also a cliff and it's lucky I was caught by the tree that stopped me going over the edge."

He said Mr Kagerer had saved his life. A rescue service spokesman said: "People often don't realise that any exercise here is a lot more work because the air is so much thinner."

Updated: 10:50 Wednesday, August 18, 2004