John Shuttleworth cave concert abandoned due to cliff rescue

by techlowdown · 20 May 2022

Edale Mountain Rescue

A concert at a Peak District cavern had to be abandoned due to the rescue of a man dangling from a ledge above it.

Comedian John Shuttleworth was halfway through the show at Peak Cavern, known as the “Devil’s Arse”, at Castleton on Thursday when the alarm was raised.

It emerged a walker trying to get to the event had got lost, slipped and had been left clinging to a tree 100ft (30m) above the cave entrance.

Edale Mountain Rescue got him to safety and he suffered only cuts and bruises.

The rescue team said it was called out at 20:55 BST and found the man had followed his sat-nav while walking from his overnight accommodation to the cavern.

“However, somehow he managed to end up on a footpath above the cavern.

“He came into extreme difficulties and slipped, just managing to catch a tree to arrest his fall, inches from a 100ft drop to the cavern floor.

“Unfortunately the concert had to be cancelled, and people had to be evacuated from the area due to the danger of rocks being dislodged on to the concertgoers below,” they said.

A member of the rescue team was lowered to the man and then both were lifted to safety.

After a check-up, he was given a lift back to his accommodation by a team member.

John Shuttleworth – real name Graham Fellows – tweeted to confirm the man was safe and well, adding: “We wish him well, and to my lovely Peak Cavern audience – thank you for evacuating so swiftly, and see you soon for the 2nd half!”

In a later tweet, he said: “I suppose I’ll have to write a song about the incident now. I can perform it when I return to finish the abandoned gig.”