The woman fell from Swirral Edge on Helvellyn

A woman was rescued in a six-hour operation after she suffered head injuries in a fall from England’s third-highest mountain.

The 57-year-old from Australia fell from Swirral Edge on Helvellyn today.

A Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team spokesperson said the rescue on the steep ground below the mountain’s summit was very technical and involved another team and an air ambulance.

Patterdale MRT was called out about 2.20pm. The spokesperson said the walker was coming down Swirral Edge when she stepped on a piece of turf that gave way, causing her to tumble head first.

“Due to the lady’s injuries and location of the incident, an air ambulance and members of Penrith Mountain Rescue Team were requested to provide assistance,” the spokesperson said.

“The team responded and drove, in their off-road Land Rovers, to the old dam near Keppel Cove before walking into Brown Cove and then up the side to gain the Swirral Edge footpath leading to the summit of Helvellyn.

“Team members and a team doctor, along with a paramedic from the air ambulance, treated the lady on scene for a head injury. She was placed into a vacuum mattress to immobilise her before being lowered on a stretcher from Swirral Edge down into Red Tarn basin.”

She was then stretchered to the waiting air ambulance and flown to hospital in Carlisle for further treatment.

The Patterdale MRT spokesperson said: “This was a very technical rescue and couldn’t have been completed without the assistance from other agencies.

“Andy Peacock, deputy team leader of Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team would like to offer thanks to Penrith Mountain Rescue Team, North West Ambulance Service, Helimed and Cumbria Police.”

The rescue involved more than 15 mountain rescue volunteers and took more than six hours.