Lake District: Injured man in four-hour crawl down fell

The man spent four hours crawling down the slope

A man spent four hours crawling down a Lake District fell after breaking his arm, leg and ribs in a fall.

The man suffered multiple injuries after slipping on steep ground while descending Eagle Crag, Borrowdale.

Knowing he was off the beaten track, he dragged himself down on to the lower slopes of Greenup Ghyll, where he was spotted by some walkers.

He was flown to hospital by the coastguard helicopter when rescuers realised the extent of his injuries.

The man was airlifted to hospital by coastguard helicopter

Two of the walkers had earlier run down the valley to Stonethwaite to raise the alarm while another stayed with the man and bandaged his leg.

When Keswick Mountain Rescue volunteers arrived after 20:00 BST on Monday night he told them that his whistles went unheard as he was so far from the path.

So he said, in the spirit of the late Doug Scott and his descent of The Ogre, he spent the next three to four hours painfully crawling down the slope.

He was assessed by a team doctor and given strong painkillers before being flown to hospital.

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