The Patterdale MRT boat

A Lake District mountain rescue team took to the water to help an injured walker.

Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team used its boat today, Monday, to reach the woman, who had fallen and injured her ankle. Rescuers took to the waters of Ullswater to reach the casualty, who was on the shore path between Howtown and Glenridding.

The walker, from Rutland, was with her family and friends when she slipped on ice and suffered a suspected broken ankle.

Patterdale MRT put a splint on the woman’s leg then stretchered her back to the lake. She was taken, along with her family, by the boat to Glenridding, where she was transferred to the team’s base at Patterdale and a waiting ambulance.

The team’s boat, the John Scott, was officially launched last June by the late Mr Scott’s widow Lindsay, after being blessed by rescue team member Bishop Ian Griggs.

Its bosun Dave Watkinson explained at the time why a mountain rescue team needed a motorboat: “The team’s area is bisected by Ullswater. This means rescues often need rapid transport across the lake.”

The John Scott replaced an earlier vessel. It is similar to an inshore lifeboat.

It was named after a former chairman of the team, an ex-Parachute Regiment member and mountaineer.