A woman who sparked a large scale rescue operation after falling from a Lake District crag has thanked her rescuers.
Marilyn Morris, 71, suffered multiple severe injuries when she lost her footing while walking down Helm Crag with her family in October 2020.
The pensioner, from Worcestershire, fell 15ft.
Mrs Morris said: “I know the Lakes so well and I’ve been there many times but I missed my footing and couldn’t save myself.
“I knew I had fractured my femur quite badly, and I also had facial injuries and a broken wrist.
“There were three amazing walkers who saw me and they stayed with me for the rest of the afternoon.”
After the walkers alerted the emergency services, the Great North Air Ambulance Service and Langdale/Ambleside Mountain Rescue Team arrived on scene to assess Mrs Morris and begin to treat her injuries.
Dr Theo Weston MBE, of the Great North Ambulance Service, said: “The weather was not very good, it was breezy and intermittently raining but we managed to land a little further up the ridge from her in what was an really impressive bit of flying from our pilot.
“She was clearly being very brave because she was in a lot of pain from her fractured leg but we were able to give her some strong painkillers to help while we applied a leg splint and packaged her onto the stretcher.
“The mountain rescue team that attended with us were incredibly helpful and did a great job getting her sorted.”
Mrs Morris added: “Theo was absolutely outstanding in looking after me. I had on the right equipment which I think helped tremendously, proper walking boots, proper walking jacket, you name it I had it.”
Due to the long walk uphill to the helicopter, a journey which was likely to be uncomfortable for Mrs Morris, she was winched by a Coastguard helicopter, which had arrived from Caernarfon, and taken to Royal Preston Hospital.
Mrs Morris spent two weeks in the high dependency unit and had plates fitted in her wrist and femur.
She is still recovering from her injuries but is able to walk half a mile a day with one crutch.
She said: “It was incredibly traumatic and I still get flashbacks, but I’m doing okay now. I just say if it had to happen it couldn’t have been managed better or more safely, from the walkers to the mountain rescue to the air ambulance, they were great.
“The Great North Air Ambulance Service are absolutely amazing. It’s all funded by donations and I just hope people recognise what a wonderful service it is and that they take care on the mountains.
“The equipment the team carry is staggering, even the shelter they threw over me was great. Having the right equipment and right care on the mountain made all the difference.”
