Hutaple Crag. Photo: Mick Garratt CC-BY-SA-2.0

Two walkers lost in cloud on a Lakeland fell used a camera flash to guide rescuers to them.

A major search today involving 30 rescuers from two teams, along with four search dogs and handlers, was launched after police alerted Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team.

The two, from Manchester and Surrey, had become disoriented in cloud after setting off to walk the Fairfield Horseshoe near Ambleside. The valley bottom was sunny but the fell tops were in cloud.

A spokesperson for the Patterdale team said: “Following a joint search with Langdale and Ambleside Mountain Rescue Team and search dogs, a camera flash from the two walkers was seen by two Patterdale team members on the area above Scrubby Crag – which is off the Fairfield horseshoe route.

“Other team members were then directed to the camera flash location where, following a short search, the two casualties were discovered well but cold.

“The two people were then walked off to Dunmail Raise and then taken by a Langdale team vehicle to their car.”

A spokesperson for the Langdale team said the couple were found on Hutaple Crag; they had no map, compass or torch.

The search and rescue took five hours.