The boys, aged about 15, had been with another three friends in the bushland near the Werribee River when the group decided to scramble up a cliff to get a better view of their surroundings.

Three of the group were able to make their own way off the cliff, but two were stranded about 30m above ground and spent nearly three hours on the rocky ledge before rescuers helped them back on to level ground.

Ballarat CFA’s high angle rescue team, local CFA, SES and police officers responded to calls from the stranded boys’ friends about 2.30pm.

Ballarat CFA station officer Tony Hope, who was rescue commander for the incident, said two CFA trucks acted as anchors at the top of the cliff about 50m above the ledge where the teens were stranded.

“They had climbed up about 30m from the bottom and got as far as they could before fear of heights took over,” he said.

Rescuers made their way down from the top of the hill and secured both patients with safety lines.

With their anxious parents watching, the two teens were hauled up the side of the hill one by one with a mechanical system mounted to the trucks.

It took about 10 minutes to bring each boy to the top of the hill once they had been attached to the system.

Mr Hope said Ambulance Victoria paramedics checked the boys for sunburn, exposure and dehydration after they spent more than 2 ½ hours on the cliff face, but they were otherwise uninjured.