Increase in Lake District rescues

The association said teams are under severe strain

Mountain rescue teams in the Lake District had their busiest year on record in 2008.

Teams dealt with 464 call-outs in 2008, up from 425 in 2007 and there were 31 deaths, a rise from 21 the year before.

The Lake District Mountain Rescue Association said the increase came despite a major campaign to halt the number of avoidable rescues.

It said more people were visiting, many were unprepared and the rise was putting severe strain on teams.

In 2008, there were 257 injuries, a rise from 234 in 2007.

Less equipped

Ged Feeney, the association's incident report officer, said: "I think there has been a steady increase in the number of people who are visiting the Lake District so obviously the figures will go up because of that.

"But equally I think it is becoming more and more apparent that people are going on to the fells less equipped than they ought to be, with less experience and not really knowing what they need to do."

He also said people were becoming less self-reliant and were depending on mobile phones and other people to help them when they got into difficulty.

The association is the umbrella organisation for the 12 teams in the Lake District along with the police and other teams involved in mountain rescues.