THE city man hurt when he fell from a Devon cliff is continuing to be treated in hospital.

It has been revealed the 37-year-old, who has not been named, was not tombstoning but was part of a stag party trip which was coasteering, an extreme organised sport.

His scheduled jump into the sea at the closed-off Redgate Beach caused him to injure his back during Sunday's incident.

He was recovered from the sea by fellow climbers.

It is understood he did not hit any rocks in his fall, but the impact with the water aggravated an old back injury.

The casualty was winched aboard the helicopter and ferried to Torquay's Torbay Hospital.

It was the second time in a year a coasteering adventurer had been injured in a climbing event at the remote beauty spot.

Coastguard rescuer Steve Perrett said all the climbers were well equipped.

He said: "It's not thought the casualty hit anything when he went down.

"However, the force of the impact with the water jarred his back and aggravated an old injury."

He said a surf of about three to four feet meant the lifeboat could not get access to pick up the casualty from the shoreline.

Instead the Portland helicopter crew sent down a winchman colleague to pluck the patient to safety.

"It's a coincidence that someone was injured in similar circumstances during an adventure outing at the same place last year," said Mr Perrett.

Dave Scullion, watch manager at Brixham who was on duty at the time, said: "The casualty was treated for spinal injuries and I imagine the fact he was winched by helicopter indicates it was fairly serious.

"There was a large group of them there and they were on a stag do from Exeter."

Coasteering is a physical activity that encompasses navigating rocky coastlines on foot or by swimming, without the aid of boats, surf boards or other craft.

It can include climbing, walking, swimming and diving.