Patterdale Mountain Rescue's youngest member offers life saving advice

Francis Charlesworth, 21, from Martindale, Ullswater, volunteers his time to help those who have got into trouble on the mountains.

“For me the Lake District is as close to a natural wilderness as England has got,” he says.

“There are some really remote mountains that you can get to and they’re off the beaten track. You can go walking there and not see anyone. I think that’s pretty special.

“I joined Mountain Rescue two years ago. We’re all volunteers and so going out is something that you have to be personally driven to do.”

Working with Fixers, a charity that helps young people ‘fix the future’, Francis wants walkers and climbers to understand how they can look after themselves out in the mountains.

Francis said: “You might make an error, you might make a navigational error, or perhaps your judgement isn’t as good as you might wish.

“But having the ability to look after yourself if something does go wrong is really, really important.

“So when you’re heading out onto the hills it’s important that you bring kit with you suitable for the conditions.

"Waterproof jacket and trousers, torch, first aid kit, map, compass, emergency bag and a mobile phone for example.

“Tell someone where you’re going and when you’re expected back. That is a really important way for us to know if somebody has had an accident and they don’t have phone signal for example.”

Fixers is charity which supports young people across the UK to take action and change things for the better, addressing any issue they feel strongly about.

The award-winning Fixers project has already supported over 10,000 young people to have an authentic voice in their community.

Each Fixer is supported to create the resources they need - such as films, websites or print work - to make their chosen project a success.

Now, thanks to a grant from the Big Lottery Fund, Fixers aims to work with a further 18,000 young people over the next three years.