Grasmoor. Photo: Steve Partridge CC-BY-SA-2.0

A walker was seriously injured after falling 300ft from a Lakeland fell.

The 56-year-old from Cheshire was airlifted from Grasmoor after a rescue involving 31 members of the Cockermouth Mountain Rescue Team.

The man was left clinging to heather roots in a precarious position after the 90m fall from the 852m (2,795ft) mountain.

Rescuers were alerted shortly after 4pm today, Saturday, and worked in the dark to secure the man before he was treated for serious injuries by the Cockermouth team’s doctor. A Sea King helicopter from RAF Leconfield in east Yorkshire then airlifted the stricken walker from crags and he was flown to Furness General Hospital in Barrow in Furness.

Rescuers in action at the Grasmoor incident. Photo: Cockermouth Mountain Rescue Team

The mountain rescue team then turned its attention to his two walking companions who were cragfast on the fell. They were led to safety down the rockface by team members.

The team’s statistics show 4pm to be the most ‘popular’ time for callouts, as walkers descend from fells. Last year was the Cockermouth team’s busiest, with 80 callouts.