A Lake District rescue team had an unusual callout on early on Tuesday: a man stuck in a crevasse.

A spokesman for the team said: “There are no glaciers in Wasdale.” The rescuers were alerted to the plight of the walker by a 999 call saying the man was stuck in a type of chasm more commonly found in Khumbu or Yakutat, even though the caller was unsure which mountain he was on. He thought he was on Scafell Pike.

Before members of the Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team had chance to reach the stricken walker, they were informed the man had managed to extricate himself from the ‘crevasse’ with the help of his companion.

The previous day, the team was called upon to help a diver in distress on Wast Water. Once again, before the team got to the scene, the man was reported to have managed to swim to the shore.

Finally, yesterday afternoon, the Wasdale rescue team got a chance to effect a real rescue when they were called to help a 64-year-old man who had slipped and injured his ankle on Horn Crag, Scafell. He was carried by stretcher to the valley floor, from where he was taken by ambulance to hospital.

Eighteen members of the Wasdale MRT were involved in the three calls, which took up a total of seven hours.

The incidents bring this total to 27 this year for the team, a 23 per cent increase on the same time last year.