A multi agency rescue ended with a 71 year old airlifted off Sourmilk Gill.

A couple were descending from near the top of Sourmilk Gill and found a 71 year old man who was too unwell to continue. The couple descended and phoned 999 from the public phone box in Seathwaite.

Keswick Mountain Rescue were alerted and on arrival in Seathwaite found the informants who had waited to direct them towards the casualty.

The man who had been returning from a long walk with a friend was given a medical check over and some food and drink.

With the prospect of a steep, difficult and dangerous stretcher descent a Coastguard helicopter was requested.

Team members supported the man for a short walk up the path to a flat area, where Whitehaven Coastguard were waiting, arriving just as Rescue 199 from Prestwick flew in.

The man, accompanied by two team members, was flown to Crow Park in Keswick to rendezvous with North West Ambulance Service for onward transfer to Cumberland Infirmary, Carlisle.

A spokesperson for Keswick Mountain Rescue said: “Huge thanks to R199 for saving us a notoriously tricky descent. Thanks also to Whitehaven Coast Guard team who were deployed to secure the landing site at Crow Park.”