A man taking part in a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award expedition had to be rescued from the Lakeland fells after injuring his ankle following a slip.

The 18-year-old was in a party of five from Barnstable, Devon, when the incident occurred. 13 members of the Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team went to his aid and he was stretchered off the hillside.

A spokesperson for the team said: “When the call arrived, the team were able to respond very rapidly as they were already at base taking part in a training session. 

“Members were quickly on scene and able to treat the casualty for a suspected fractured ankle.  The casualty was then placed in a stretcher and lowered down the fellside to the valley bottom.

“He was then taken by a team Land Rover ambulance to the rescue base where he was transferred to a county ambulance for transfer to Cumberland Infirmary, Carlisle.”

More than 275,000 people took part in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award last year. The expedition forms one part of their programme and teams walk unaccompanied but under the supervision of adults in the area.

Rescues of Duke of Edinburgh’s Award participants typically account for about four per cent of mountain rescue teams’ workloads in England and Wales, with the Lake District, Wales and the Peak District the busiest areas.