The RAF Sea King had to divert to Leeds because Middlesbrough was fog-bound

A mountain biker was airlifted to hospital after coming off his bike on the North York Moors.

Members of Cleveland Mountain Rescue Team, who were taking part in a training weekend, were with the stricken cyclist within 10 minutes of being alerted.

The 50-year-old, from Northallerton in North Yorkshire, crashed while coming down a moorland track near Cod Beck, above Osmotherley.

Ambulance paramedics were first on the scene and mountain rescuers arrived soon afterwards. The rider had suspected neck injuries and an air ambulance was requested but was unable to take off because of fog at its Teesside base.

An RAF Sea King helicopter was then called in and landed on the moorland close to the rescue scene, but had to maintain power to its rotors to avoid sinking into the soft ground.

Cleveland MRT members carried the injured mountain biker down the moor and he was airlifted from the site. An initial approach to James Cook Hospital in Middlesbrough was abandoned because of fog and the aircraft flew the man to Leeds General Infirmary.

Team spokesperson Barry Warrington said: “This was a multi-agency rescue in which the North Yorkshire Ambulance Service, the RAF Sea King and the Cleveland Mountain Rescue Team all worked together to get the injured biker off the moor and to hospital as quickly as possible.

“When the call came through we stopped the training programme in order to go to the assistance of the mountain biker.

“We had 26 team members involved in the incident. They provided casualty care to the biker, stopped traffic movement to ensure a safe landing for the Sea King helicopter and carried the biker off the moor and to the aircraft as quickly as possible.”