MALVERN firefighters saved a teenager who was "inches away from death" when they carried out a dramatic cliff rescue in the early hours of yesterday (Thursday).

The 18-year-old from Worcester was camping on Midsummer Hill with four friends when he fell into Hollybush Quarry.

Firefighters, including the Line Rescue Team from Malvern, were called to the scene by one of the man's friends.

Station Officer Ian Seward said the campers had built a fire right on the cliff edge.

"The young man went round the back of the fire to stoke it up and just fell over the edge," he said.

"He fell 20ft and then landed on a tiny grass slope but there was a good 100ft drop down on to a shingle bed at the bottom.

"He's a lucky man because he was within inches of death and, without a shadow of a doubt, he would have died if he hadn't landed on that slope."

The teenager clung on to the cliff face for an hour waiting for the firefighters to arrive and rescue him. But he only suffered cuts and grazes, which Station Officer Seward said was "amazing".

"But he was extremely tired and very drained from his ordeal," he said.

Malvern firefighters had a busy night on Wednesday. Just before midnight there was a grass fire on the common opposite the fire station, which they had to deal with.

Station Officer Seward said the fire was fairly big, about 30ft square.

Then, following the quarry rescue, the team were called out to two fire alarms which were going off in two Malvern residential homes.

Finally, at about 6am in the morning, they were called to a burning car in Orford Way, Malvern.