A pensioner has been rescued after a horror 240-foot tumble down a Lake District hillside.
Emergency services said the man fell backwards and somersaulted in ‘roly poly’s down a steep drop near the Mousethwaite Comb Path, near Keswick, Cumbria.
A team of 12 volunteers from Keswick Mountain Rescue Team, supported by North West Ambulance Service and the Great North Air Ambulance Service raced to the scene at around 11.14am on Wednesday.
Despite falling a distance the equivalent of three tennis courts, rescuers said the man was a “very stoic casualty” and appeared “to be less badly injured than first feared”.
In a statement Keswick Mountain Rescue Team said: “An elderly man involuntarily performed around 75m-worth of backwards tumbling roly polys after he fell from the Mousethwaite Comb path, coming to rest in the gill (stream) below.
“Due to the length of fall and location the coastguard was tasked as a winch extraction was thought to be required.
“The man’s companions and two passing walkers who had raised the alarm looked after the gentleman until the team arrived.
“A medical assessment showed fortunately the very stoic casualty to be less badly injured than first feared.”
The statement added a Coast Guard response team were later stood down the man was “stretchered/sledged down to the road where further checks were carried out before being transferred to Carlisle Hospital by land ambulance”.
The Mousethwaite Comb path runs for around seven miles in a circular trail near the village of Threlkeld in Cumbria. The route reaches a height of around 2,600 feet and takes approximately fives hours to complete.
According to walking site AllTrails, the trail is “popular trail for birding, camping, and hiking, but you can still enjoy some solitude during quieter times of day”.
It added: “The best times to visit this trail are April through September. Dogs are welcome, but must be on a lead.”
