RENOWNED explorer Alan Hinkes was found accompanying an injured climber to the shock of mountain rescuers who had been called to assist.

Penrith Mountain Rescue Team found Mr Hinkes cheering up and comforting the 70-year-old man who slipped and injured his lower leg.

The accident occurred on Thursday (July 12) close to Nan Bield Pass near Mardale Head, Haweswater.

Rescuers were able to splint the injured climber’s leg and lower him from the hillside on a stretcher, aided by Kirkby Stephen Mountain Rescue Team who arrived to assist with the long carry out.

The injured man was then transported to Penrith Hospital, and later to Carlisle, following a six-hour rescue involving 12 members of PMRT.

Born in Yorkshire, Alan Hinkes summited Kangchenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world, in May 2005. This marked the completion of his attempt to climb all 14 eight-thousanders (mountains more than 8,000m high), and he became only the 13th person in the world to have claimed this feat, then aged 50.

Even after summiting the world’s largest and most iconic mountains, Alan Hinkes remains a regular visitor to the Lake District. Arguably the UK’s most successful extreme altitude mountaineer, he is well-equipped to tackle the Lake District’s hills, and also to assist others, as was demonstrated on Thursday.

Scaling the world’s greatest peaks is undeniably dangerous, with very high fatality rates on several of the 14 peaks, but Hinkes has always prioritised and endorsed safety. His often-quoted motto is: "I climb to live, not to die.”

Hinkes is also an author, photographer and filmmaker, with the majority of his work focused upon his mountaineering experiences. In 2017, he was invited to become an ambassador for Mountain Rescue England and Wales (MREW), following his long-time advocacy of mountain rescue and safety.