‘The Guardian lights very well’: how newspaper came to aid of stranded geologist

When Bryn Austin, 71, lost his bearings on an unstable cliff his favourite paper kept him warm and helped start fire to alert rescuers

Bryn Austin always carries a copy of the Guardian when he goes looking for rocks, usually to wrap up muddy or delicate specimens. But on one ill-fated trip, he discovered a new application for his favourite newspaper.

The retired geologist, 71, had taken a walk to Fairlight Glen in East Sussex to study a landslide on the evening of 24 April. After a wrong turn, he became stranded in the dark on the face of a cliff prone to erosion.