Welsh Three Peaks: Rugby players saved 3,000ft up Cader Idris

The group had been hiking for 20 hours when they were rescued from Cader Idris

Charity hikers have been warned to be better prepared after players from a rugby club got lost 3,000ft (914m) up one of the highest mountains in Wales.

The group of five women and one man, from Kent, got stuck on Cader Idris, Gwynedd, after starting the Welsh Three Peaks Challenge on Saturday.

Aberdyfi Mountain Rescue Team rescued them at 02:30 BST on Sunday.

Rescuer Graham O'Hanlon warned people not to take on charity challenges without training and preparation.

The Welsh Three Peaks Challenge involves climbers tackling Snowdon and Cader Iris, in Snowdonia, and Pen y Fan, in Brecon Beacons, in just 24 hours.

Lost in dark

The group, from a rugby club in Kent, had started climbing Snowdon at 05:00 on Saturday.

After reaching the summit of the second peak on Saturday evening, the group got lost in the dark and poor weather, ending up on the steep crags above Cwm Cau.

While some of the group tried to find a way down, others called for mountain rescue assistance, who rescued them with the help of GPS.

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Mr O'Hanlon warned that many inexperienced hikers were attracted to challenges like the Welsh Three Peaks believing they were "safer" or needed less preparation, but urged people to know the routes and train before they went out.

"The diary pressures of organising group activities can lead to groups taking to the hills in unsuitable weather conditions," he said.

Burden of time

He added: "Charities such as our rescue team depend entirely on donations, and so depend heavily on the work of fundraisers such as these walkers.

"However, we would ask would-be fundraisers looking at challenges like this to consider whether collecting money for one charity whilst placing a burden of time and resources on another is actually fundraising at all."

Kent, in England, is in tier one - the lowest level of coronavirus cases - meaning the group had not breached lockdown rules by travelling to Wales.