Tryfan's North Ridge. Photo: Richard Webb CC-BY-SA-2.0

A walker was airlifted to hospital after falling from a ridge and injuring his head.

The man was with a party of five from York who got into difficulties while tackling Tryfan in Snowdonia via its North Ridge.

And rescuers had to deal with four other walkers who got lost in fading light on the same mountain while the first rescue was under way.

Twenty members of the Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Organisation were involved in rescuing the nine hillwalkers in an operation lasting more than five hours.

Five friends set off up the route yesterday in wet weather but soon encountered problems and one of them retreated back down the mountain to the road after getting separated from the rest of his group.

The other four decided to abandon their scramble on the grade-one route, and also started their descent.

However, out of sight of his friends, one of the men fell about 6m (20m), suffering head injuries. Another had become cragfast above Milestone Buttress near the bottom of the mountain.

His companions found him and one of the pair then ran to the A5 road for help.

A spokesperson for the Ogwen Valley team said the rescue was made complicated due to the fact it was not clear where each of the party was.

A Sea King helicopter was requested from RAF Valley on Anglesey and was able to airlift the injured man to hospital, while rescue team members used ropes to lower the stuck walker to safety.

Meanwhile, the team received a second call for help from four walkers who had set off up the Heather Terrace route up the mountain but has managed to stray on to the scrambling terrain of the North Ridge near the Cannon, a projecting rock feature overlooking the East Face.

In fading light and unsure of their descent route, they called for help.

A small party of rescuers left the first rescue to find the four and walk with them to safety back down on the road.