A MOUNTAIN rescue team took over five hours to rescue a lone walker in the Lake District.

Wasdale MRT were paged to the Great Gable Mountain Range in Borrowdale at 3:33 pm on Friday after receiving reports of a man who had taken a tumble and injured his ankle on the Climber’s Traverse.

The walker had managed to get from the Beck Head to the Wasdale Path but was unable to continue from there.

Once on scene, he was assessed and given pain relief by rescuers, before they splinted his ankle.

In what was a full callout, the walker was then stretchered down to Gavel Neese by 8:54pm and airlifted to hospital by the Rescue 199 Coastguard helicopter.

(Image: Lone walker being airlifted to hospital. Credit: Wasdale MRT) The operation was conducted in dry, sunny conditions and took five hours and 21 minutes.

A spokesperson for Wasdale MRT said: “We wish the walker a swift recovery from his injuries and hope he is back on the fells soon.”