Mr Holloway collapsed between Fairfield and Hart Crag. Photo: Graham Horn CC-BY-SA-2.0

A fellrunner died after collapsing in a Lakeland race, despite the efforts of mountain rescuers.

Darren Holloway, 42, was taking part in the Ian Hodgson Mountain Relay on Sunday when he collapsed on the Fairfield Horseshoe.

The runner, from Ilkeston in Derbyshire, was on the ridge between Hart Crag and Fairfield when the incident happened.

Fellow runners and hillwalkers in the area went to Mr Holloway’s aid and performed cardio-pulmonary resuscitation on the fellrunner.

Langdale Ambleside Mountain Rescue Team was alerted at 1.15pm and an air ambulance landed close to the scene.

A National Police Air Service helicopter from Lancashire also flew to the area and landed on the fell top.

It then flew to Ambleside to pick up a team member with defibrillator and airlifted the rescuer back to the site while Langdale Ambleside MRT members made their way on to the fell on foot.

A spokesperson for the rescue team said: “The man was evacuated to hospital, but despite this combined effort, sadly, the man died.”

A spokesperson for Cumbria Constabulary said: “His family has been informed and there are no suspicious circumstances to his death.

“The case has been passed to the coroner.”

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  The cyclist crashed at speed on the Wrynose Pass

  Mountain rescuers were also involved in an incident in which an injured cyclist was airlifted from a Lake District pass.

The Langdale Ambleside deputy team leader and a dog handler from the team came across the accident on the Wrynose Pass while returning, with several other search dog handlers, from a training exercise in the Duddon Valley on Sunday.

A Langdale Ambleside MRT spokesperson said: “A male had crashed at high speed, suffering serious head, facial and other injuries.

“He was stabilised while waiting for further help to arrive. The team was dispatched, and an air ambulance was requested.

“It proved very difficult to get through traffic due to tailbacks caused by the road blockage, but the team managed and were able to provide first aid and stretcher transport to a suitable landing site.

“The man was evacuated to hospital.”