A group of walkers staged a courageous rescue when a woman was injured on England's highest peak. The party came down Scafell Pike carrying the injured patient using a field gate as a stretcher.
The incident happened on Wednesday (April 11), shortly after 5pm. Keswick Mountain Rescue Team was called to the incident on Scafell Pike in the Lake District, Cumbria. The party was descending back to Seathwaite from the mountain when one member of the party slipped and injured her ankle, reports LancsLive.
Thanks to poor mobile reception in the area, another member of the group descended to Seathwaite farm to contact the rescue team and raise the alarm. Whilst the party waited for assistance, the injured walker was taken down the hill with the help of some passing walkers.
When the group got to Stockley Bridge, they used a gate in a field as an improvised stretcher, which allowed them to continue walking until the Keswick team arrived. When they did, pain relief was provided and the ankle was splinted.
The injured walker was then carried with the rescue team's normal stretcher to the car, for transportation to the nearby hospital. During this, the field gate was taken back to Stockley Bridge, put back on its hinges and is in fine working order again.
In total, the improvised rescue mission took 23 people two hours and 34 minutes. The story was told on Keswick Mountain Rescue Team's social media page, which amassed lots of public reaction to the tale.
One person commented: "What a fantastically responsible and resourceful group! I hope she recovers well!" Another agreed by writing: "Well done all, interesting use of the gate a bit like reading reports of early rescues before teams were properly equipped."
A third joked: "This incident to be forever known as "Stretchergate." A fourth wrote: "Well done to everyone involved. That's been some adventure for the party of walkers."
