This is Exeter -- EXETER pensioners Maureen and Dave Rimmer have expressed heartfelt thanks to everyone who came to the rescue when their car plunged down a cliff. Mr Rimmer, 70, is now recovering at home in Beacon Heath after being freed from his wrecked BMW and airlifted to hospital. Police, firefighters, coastguards, paramedics and the air ambulance rushed to the scene at the Mount Pleasant Inn, Dawlish Warren, just after 2.30pm on Sunday, February 2. Pub customers rushed to Mr Rimmer's aid before the emergency services arrived. "I just thought he was dead – it was horrendous," said Mrs Rimmer, 69. "Because I feared the worst I couldn't go down right away, but two of the lads who had gone down came back up and told me he was talking and was all right. "A lot of young people get a bad press but they were absolutely amazing. "I just want to thank all the people who came to help Dave, including the fire service, coastguard and ambulance crews – they were just amazing." Mr Rimmer, a former AA patrolman, who previously ran Brookside News and the Candy Shop in Exeter with his wife until the shops closed, suffered a bad cut on his chin and severe bruising but escaped more serious injury and was discharged from hospital on Monday afternoon. "He is just so angry with himself about this stupid thing that happened," said Mrs Rimmer. "He hurts everywhere but he's got away without a broken bone. At the hospital they said he was the luckiest man in the world." Explaining how the incident happened, Mrs Rimmer, who was waiting at the front of the pub at the time, said her husband was reversing in the car park when he thought he had hit something. He took off his seatbelt and was getting out of the car to investigate when he accidentally hit the accelerator, causing the car to reverse at speed, crash through a fence and plunge about 50 metres down the embankment. "I heard this crash and thought he had hit a car in the car park, but when I went round there to look the fence was down so I went running back into the pub," she said. "All these people had seen what happened and there was panic as they were rushing out to get to him.Mrs Rimmer said: "I don't know how but somehow Dave was flung into the back of the car, which saved his life. They found him behind the driver's seat. His body was against the back door and his legs were in between the front seats, so that cushioned him." Shocked pub goers watched in disbelief as the automatic grey BMW smashed through fencing – just inches from a propane gas cylinder holder – over the bank and ended up just feet away from empty holiday properties. The Devon Air Ambulance was called and after 45 minutes Mr Rimmer was recovered from the car and airlifted to the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital. Mrs Rimmer was led down to the scene while her husband was checked over by paramedics. Dawlish station commander Dave Williams said: "He was very, very lucky. "It was also lucky that nobody was walking down through the bank when the car came over. It looked as if it flew through the air for the first 20 or so feet and then slid down to the ground." Pub manager Craig Timms said: "I found out what happened when a customer said to me, 'Was that a car?'" Onlookers praised the skills of the Devon Air Ambulance pilot for landing on the small strip of land near the vehicle. Fifteen firefighters attended the incident. A spokesman for the fire service said: "Crews confirmed one vehicle had fallen approximately 50 metres down a cliff with one person still inside. They helped d paramedics rescue the man who was taken to hospital in the air ambulance. They also helped recover the vehicle." Reported by This is 12 hours ago.
