AN ELDERLY fisherman was 'rescued' after going missing while fishing at Hodbarrow nature reserve.

Millom Coastguard saved the man - as part of a training exercise to practice their search and first aid skills.

A search plan was formulated and the team deployed to search. After searching the area the ‘casualty’ was located and found to have fallen knocking himself out and sustaining a fractured leg. First aid was administered and the casualty recovered from the scene.

A spokesman said: "This was good practice for the team, some of who had never previously searched at night. It was also good experience for our new officer in charge by planning the search and running it. The DSO was on hand to give advice, should it have been needed. Although it was a bit daunting, being a lot of firsts for a lot of people, they did well and got the job done. Valuable experience was gained during the exercise."