Police name cliff fall victim

Police in Orkney have confirmed the identity of the man who died following a fall at cliffs in Deerness yesterday.

Colin Middleton, 49, from the Sheffield area, was recovered from the foot of the cliffs following a multi-agency response by police, HM Coastguard, RNLI and the Scottish Ambulance Service.

Sadly he could not be saved despite the best efforts of the various agencies.

There are no suspicious circumstances and a report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal in due course.

Chief Inspector Matt Webb said: “Our thoughts are with Mr Middleton’s family and friends at this extremely sad time.

“There are no suspicious circumstances and Mr Middleton’s death appears to be a tragic accident.

“However, we are continuing to establish the full circumstances and I would be grateful if anyone who has information but has not yet spoken to police gets in touch as soon as they can.

“I would also take the opportunity to thank our partner agencies for their support during this incident.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Police Scotland on 101 quoting incident 1585 of September 20.