Bloody Bridge. Photo: Graeme Churchard CC-BY-SA-2.0

A helicopter airlifted a stranded walker trapped by flood water at the foot of Northern Ireland’s highest peak.

A couple from Falkirk were marooned by two streams in spate near Bloody Bridge, Newcastle, County Down, yesterday. The 55-year-old man was winched from the site by the Irish Coast Guard’s rescue helicopter, while the woman, 53, was walked to safety by members of the South Down Coastguard Rescue Team.

The pair became stranded about 400m from the car park at the base of the Mourne Mountains and were unable to make their way back across the bridge.

A spokesperson for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said: “The South Down Coastguard Rescue Team was immediately turned out and the Coastguard in Dublin was contacted requesting the use of the Irish Coastguard helicopter, R116.

“The man was winched with a member of the Coastguard Team, and taken to the helicopter landing site at Donard car park. The female was walked down to the Bloody Bridge car park along with members from the South Down Team.”

Ian Murdock, Belfast Coastguard watch manager said: “We are urging visitors to have an eye on the weather forecast and the terrain into which they are entering, if they are intending to go out walking.

“Tourists are very welcome and the area is of outstanding natural beauty and is the most picturesque mountain district in Ireland. The twelve peaks include Slieve Donard, which at 850m (2,789ft) is Northern Ireland’s highest mountain. Some areas can be quite rugged and we are advising visitors to wear the correct footwear and ensure they have some form of communication device on them in case of unforeseen difficulty.”

Bloody Bridge, the origin of which the name is uncertain, though may be the result of a massacre during the 1641 rebellion, lies at the start of one of the routes up Slieve Donard.