A young woman was praised for getting herself off a Lakeland fell when she became lost.

The 17-year-old, from the Eden Valley, became separated from her mother, with whom she was walking, on the summit plateau of Gowbarrow Fell, above Ullswater. The woman’s mother raised the alarm when she got back to her car at Watermillock.

The two lost each other about 2pm today, Sunday and, despite searching for her daughter, the woman was unable to locate her on Gowbarrow Park. She decided to return to the valley, and rang the police.

Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team was alerted shortly after 5pm tried to contact the woman by mobile phone.

A spokesman for the team said: “This area is a very difficult one for mobile phone reception and in this case though the team leader tried the number on many occasions there was no service.

“As the team were in the initial stages of setting up a search on Gowbarrow Park the girl was located uninjured making her own way off the fell. Though cold, wet and a little frightened she had acted very sensibly and retraced her steps knowing where the path led.”

Gowbarrow Fell is a 481m (1,578ft) peak on the north shores of Ullswater.