RESCUERS had to battle blizzard conditions during two call-outs on Sunday afternoon.

First, members of the Clapham-based Cave Rescue Association helped a 65-year-old walker, who had broken her ankle on Ingleborough after descending the steep path down to Humphrey Bottom.

The walker was given pain-relief, splintage and a heated waistcoat, before being evacuated by stretcher in developing blizzard conditions. She was then taken by CRO Land Rover to the road-head for transfer to a road ambulance.

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Less than 20 minutes later, the team responded to a second call for help from two Three Peaks walkers who had passed CRO members as they treated the injured women but were overwhelmed by the blizzard on the summit of Ingleborough.

Once the previous patient was safely in the Land Rover, four CRO members returned to the hill and searched the summit plateau in ‘white-out’ conditions.

They found the two men - aged 25 and 26 - wet and very cold as they had been unable to reach the summit shelter. Each was given extra clothing, energy food and a decent head-light, before being guided down to Crina Bottom to meet the CRO Land Rover.

It was the end of a busy weekend for the team because, on Saturday night, members were on standby to look for a group of overdue cavers who had been making their way from Pippikin Pot to Mistral Hole.

A CRO spokesman said: "Other cavers wished to go look for them before there was a full call-out. Almost three hours later, they reported that contact had been made, that the party had been delayed when one of their number had difficulty in this notoriously tight pot, but that all were now safely on the way to the surface."