ADVENTURERS who spent the night on an island are lucky to be alive after they got into difficulty, a firefighter has said.

The group of five, aged between 25 and 50, kayaked out to Hawes How island in the middle of Thirlmere reservoir to camp on out.

But during the night, two of them made the mistake of deciding to come back to shore.

The pair got into difficulty and fell into the water at which point the others tried to rescue them. One made it back to the island while the other continued on to the lake shore.

Kevin Johnston, station manager at Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service, said: "They were very lucky to be alive in this situation. It was very cold, they didn't have the proper protective clothing to give them thermal protection from the cold.

"They had been having a camping session on the island. There was alcohol on the island, although I'm not saying they were drunk at the time of the incident."

The camper who reached the shore managed to get a phone signal and call for help.

Firefighters from Penrith and Keswick were mobilised just before 7am on Sunday to help, as were paramedics from the ambulance service.

Wearing special dry suits and using an inflatable boat, the firefighters rescued the four remaining campers one by one and then went back for their camping kit.

They completed a total of eight journeys back and forth from the island – a distance of about 250m.

The 16 firefighters were at the scene for about two hours and 20 minutes.

One of the campers was suffering from hypothermia and there were concerns that a second had water in their lungs.

Mr Johnston was not impressed by the campers' lack of preparation.

He said: "This had the potential to be a fatal incident with this incident in the water. We didn't see any life jacket work by individuals. They were ill-prepared for the adventure they were having."

He added: "These guys were extremely lucky. This could have turned from a jolly expedition to one or two fatalities but for the grace of God."