Two young men had to be lifted to safety when their early- hours plan to witness the sunrise ended in disaster.

Rescuers said the pair had clambered on to a narrow ledge 30 feet above sea level at Plymouth Hoe while waiting for the sun to come up – then they both fell asleep.

When the first man woke and tried to scramble to safety, at about 10am, he lost his footing and plunged almost 20 feet to the beach below. He was recovering in hospital last night, suffering from suspected minor spinal injuries.

His 20-year-old friend, unaware of the hour-long rescue, was woken up by firefighters, who used a harness and specialist cliff rescue equipment to winch him to safety.

He was then arrested on suspicion of being drunk in public but later released without charge after being advised to apologise to his rescuers.

Emergency services say the two men, understood to be students at Plymouth University, were dicing with death.

They had clambered over a wall in Hoe Road, between the Wet Wok and the boarded-up Waterfront restaurant.

Eyewitnesses raised the alarm after seeing the man motionless on the beach, and paramedics, police and Ministry of Defence Police arrived within minutes.

Fire watch commander Phil Quarmby, who led the rescue operation, said the injured man was conscious and breathing when emergency services reached him.