Quarter of Lake District rescues avoidable, says charity - BBC

Mountain rescue volunteers accidental one-in-four of the telephone outs they attended past twelvemonth could person been avoided.

Lake District Search and Mountain Rescue Association attended 610 telephone outs successful 2022, though that fig was down from 681 successful the erstwhile year.

Chairman Richard Warren said: "In galore cases telephone outs are avoidable and for radical who person not researched oregon been good capable prepared."

There are 12 upland rescue teams, of astir 400 volunteers, crossed Cumbria.

"Our volunteers successful Keswick and Wasdale get the astir telephone outs to radical who are mislaid oregon overdue and it amounts to 25% of each calls," Mr Warren said.

Visitors are reminded to wear and transportation the close equipment for their walks, to cheque the upwind forecast and not trust solely connected mobile phones but to transportation a representation and compass arsenic well.

"We're successful a truly acold drawback astatine the infinitesimal and temperatures autumn importantly little the higher you climb.

"There is simply a batch of crystal and frozen snowfall connected the mountains - truthful radical request to instrumentality crystal picks and crampons.

"We bash spot tragic incidents wherever radical gaffe and if you autumn a agelong way, you don't survive. That's not what we want," Mr Warren added.

He besides said warned astute telephone batteries drain much rapidly successful wintertime months, truthful walkers are encouraged to instrumentality mobile powerfulness banks oregon instrumentality an further telephone but support it switched off, successful lawsuit it is needed.

The work has had a engaged commencement to 2023 with 12 call-outs successful the archetypal week, including 1 44 minutes into the caller twelvemonth erstwhile a "well-equipped and experienced" walker broke her ankle successful upwind and snowfall connected Green Gable.