A COUPLE who had to be rescued after falling over a wall in the Yorkshire Dales say they were just 'having a laugh' when the accident happened.

Graham Scott, 33, and fiancée Clare, also 33, sparked a major rescue operation last weekend when they fell down a steep embankment near Hawes.

According to emergency services, the accident happened when the couple were 'getting amorous'.

However, Mr Scott said they were just having some fun.

He added: “We were walking home and Clare was being cheeky so I said I would throw her over the wall.

“I picked her up to pretend I was going to throw her, but I tripped as I walked towards the wall.

“Clare went over, but kept hold of me and I went over as well as I tried to stop her.”

Mr Scott fell 12ft down the bank into a tree, suffering an injury to his spine.

Clare, who asked for her surname not to be published, has a possible fractured foot.

The couple, from Hawes, were walking with Clare’s eight-year-old daughter, Amelia, who flagged down a passing motorist and asked her to call for help.

A road ambulance and firefighters initially responded, however they called for assistance from the air ambulance and volunteers from Swaledale Mountain Rescue Team.

Mr Scott was airlifted to Harrogate District Hospital. He later discharged himself, but was readmitted the following day after suffering breathing difficulties.

“Amelia was a little hero,” said Mr Scott.

“If it wasn’t for her we could have been there for hours. We didn’t mean to do it. We were just having a bit of fun - a laugh. It was just one of those things.”

The couple who met online are due to get married in August.

Mr Scott, who until recently worked at the Wensleydale Creamery, in Hawes, said they planned to ask for donations to Swaledale Mountain Rescue Team and the air ambulance instead of presents.