A GROUP of hikers who live in Suffolk helped stranded Cumbrian motorists navigate an icy road.

John Finlinson and a group of seven friends were visiting the area between Duddon Valley and Eskdale when they stumbled on Hardknott Pass to explore the mountains.

Mr Finlinson said: “We do mountains every four weeks.

“The Lakes is one of our favourite places.

“We took the route through Hardknott Pass because it was the quickest way through. We weren’t expecting the ice that was on the corner, one of our group turned around.”

The 43-year-old and the rest of his group decided to push their way up the steep icy incline which is when another motorist trying to get down the hill started to appear.

Mr Finlinson said: “It was a proper buzz, it was one of the best moments of the day.

“It’s how you end up meeting like minded people.

“We exchanged details with someone who was about to climb the place that we had just been so we gave them some tips, I think we’re going to meet up and climb together in the future.

“It would have taken about 20 minutes to get our cars up the hill but we ended up staying for about an hour and a half helping other people down.

“It gives us a good feeling helping people down.

“The majority of our group are quite outgoing and if we see people that need help we will go and help them.

“Most of the people you find on the hills are just top people."

Mr Finlinson posted a video of his efforts on Facebook's 'I love the Lake District', he said: “I think I’m right in saying that we represent the majority of people on the page. There will always be a few but most are great.”