Scafell rescue: Eight-hour operation to reach walkers

Some of the rescuers abseiled down to the trapped walkers

Mountain rescuers carried out an eight-hour operation in the Lake District when two walkers became stranded.

The pair became stuck on Scafell after one of them fell several feet on to rocks at 15:00 GMT on Tuesday.

A team of 15 from the Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team eventually found the walkers, who were on a steep crag on the Eskdale side of the peak.

Some of the team abseiled to the pair who were moved to a safer location. Neither of them were seriously hurt.

A spokesman for the rescue team said: "With light fading, lowering cloud and surrounding areas loose and extremely slippery, the walkers wisely requested urgent help.

"They were stuck in a very exposed and dangerous location and were separated vertically by around 50m (146ft), so it was necessary to set up an abseil.

"They were eventually located by their shouts and torch beams and recovered to a more stable section of the mountain at 11pm and eventually lowered, one at a time."