Rescuers used their boat to get the couple across the worst flooded areas. Photo: Keswick MRT

A couple camping in the Lake District were rescued after they woke in the early hours to find their tent floating in flood water.

The pair had pitched their tent near Castle Crag in Borrowdale but became trapped by rising water about 4.30am on Sunday.

Keswick Mountain Rescue Team was called out to bring them to safety.

A team spokesperson said: “Very heavy and localised flooding in the Borrowdale valley caused the rivers to rise quickly and the couple became trapped between streams and called for rescue.

“The team sent swiftwater-rescue-trained personnel to the scene. They were able to retrieve the stranded couple and walk them off using the team’s boat to cross a couple of deeper sections of path.

“River levels at this stage were falling quite fast, the rain having all but stopped, but it was dramatic to see the difference in river levels between Keswick and Borrowdale.”

The rescue lasted just over two hours and involved 13 Keswick MRT volunteers.

The spokesperson for the team said the moral of the tale was: check the weather forecast.