A Lake District mountain rescue team were forced to battle 80mph winds to help a walker in trouble at the height of Storm Amy.
The volunteers of Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team were called to help a walker who had twisted their ankle and unable to continue.
The walker had raised the alarm from the wind shelter on Great Dodd Fell.
Patterdale team members set off at around 1.45pm yesterday, Friday October 3.
The walker had been hiking from Ambleside and after they had twisted their ankle had managed to get to the wind shelter on the summit.
The team responded with 13 members going on the fell.
The team said: “Storm Amy made for challenging conditions getting to the casualty with the team battling torrential rain and 80mph winds, at times some team member were blown over.
“Near the summit the team decided to put the stretcher together, adding their kit on top, dragging it to the wind shelter as it was impossible to carry this any longer.
“Once the casualty was reached they were given pain relief and evacuated on a stretcher to the fell towards the Land Rovers. From there they were taken to base and reunited with their friends who came to collect them.”
Due to the difficult conditions, one team member twisted his leg as he was blown over but was able to make his own way down the fell slowly.
The callout lasted five hours.
Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team said: “While mountain rescue teams will always come to the aid of those in distress in the fells and mountains, the speed of our response must reflect the safety and wellbeing of our own membership.
“This incident was at the very limit of what we (as the leadership in Patterdale) feel that we could operate in before putting our team members at real risk.
“The casualty had set out on a fell run from Ambleside to Keswick, hoping to be down before Storm Amy really took hold.
“Unfortunately they sustained an injury mid route and felt that the safest option was to take shelter and call for help.
“No one goes out expecting to have to call out a rescue team and accidents can happen to the very best of us.
“I’m sure that in this instance lessons have been learned and it would be nice to think that others might take notice of this incident and bear in mind the consequences of heading out during or just before a major storm hits.
“We wish the casualty a speedy recovery and for those that would like to bring a bit of positivity, all of the mountain rescue teams in England and Wales are funded and supported entirely by donations from you, the general public and mountain users.
“Rather than berating someone else’s misfortune, why not drop your local team a couple of quid. Accidents happen and next time it could be you.”
