Hartsop Dodd, scene of the search

Mountain rescue volunteers spent four hours searching for a hillwalker who had hitch-hiked back to his hotel.

The 64-year-old from Bishop Auckland in County Durham was reported missing today by his walking companion after the pair failed to rendezvous on the summit of Hartsop Dodd in the Lake District as arranged.

The men had taken different routes up the 618m (2,028ft) fell, near Patterdale.

The walker’s companion waited two hours for him at the summit before making his way back to his car which was parked at Cow Bridge near Hartsop.

He waited another two hours before phoning police and reporting him missing.

Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team was alerted at 4.20pm and began looking for the walker.

A spokesperson for the rescuers said: “A search was undertaken by the Patterdale team and after four hours the man was located in his hotel accommodation having hitched back to Penrith.”