Heavily pregnant woman got into difficulty on walk

Volunteers from Keswick Mountain Rescue Service carried the pregnant woman back on a stretcher

Mountain rescue volunteers found themselves "nervously discussing wilderness childbirth" when they were called to help a heavily pregnant woman.

The eight-month pregnant woman was struggling to descend the Wythburn Valley above the south end of Thirlmere, in Cumbria, Keswick Mountain Rescue Team (KMRT) said.

The team said she was wet and cold, suffering from hip and knee pain and moving very slowly.

A fell runner, who had come across the couple and assisted them, descended to Steel End Farm to phone for help and "returned shortly after with the local farmer bringing warm, dry clothes for the woman".

"The team made their way up the valley nervously discussing wilderness childbirth but fortunately this was not the appointed time," a KMRT spokesman said.

He said she was carried back to the couple's car at Steel End car park in a stretcher, wrapped in a heat blanket.

The NHS recommends pregnant women stay fit and active to help them adapt to their changing shape and to cope with labour.

KMRT said the rescue, which happened on Sunday, took about two and a half hours and involved 17 volunteers.