The group got lost near Avon Dam Reservoir on Dartmoor. Photo: Herby CC-BY-SA-4.0

A rescue team had to carry out emergency aid on one of its vehicles when it broke down after finding a group of teenagers lost on Dartmoor.

Dartmoor Search and Rescue Ashburton was able to use one of its vehicles to evacuate the group of walkers lost in the dark during Storm Katie.

But members had to carry out makeshift repairs to one of its Land Rovers after it developed a fault high on the moors in the early hours of Monday.

The rescue team was called out about 11.45pm on Easter Sunday to search for a group of five young walkers who found themselves in difficulties north-west of the Avon Dam Reservoir in the South of the national park.

A team spokesman said: “Initially a team of six members walked out from the dam towards a position indicated by a tracking device the group were carrying.

“Other team members in our Land Rovers made their way up the Puffing Billy track to begin searching from the West.

“An hour after leaving the dam our initial team located the missing group hunkered down in an emergency shelter they had been carrying. They were cold and wet but unharmed.

“After a quick check over by our casualty carer the five teenagers were walked to Crossways on the Puffing Billy track to meet our Land Rovers. As one of our Land Rovers drove the teenagers off the moor a number of our members remained with our second land Rover as it had developed an electrical fault and broken down.

“After 45 minutes of fiddling a temporary fix had been found and the last of our team members were off the moor and heading to their beds by 4.30am.”