ONE man and his dog sparked a heartwarming two-hour rescue operation on a Lake District fell.

The story of the walker who refused to abandon his elderly and exhausted pet terrier in a Cumbrian wilderness when it was too exhausted to carry on is the perfect illustration of the bond between man and his best friend.

It also showed the dedication of Kewswick Mountain Rescue Team members.

The team was alerted at 6.20pm on Thursday evening.

The walker involved was tackling the Cumbria Way from Keswick to Caldbeck with his nine-year-old dog and after a long, wet day, the terrier simply refused to carry on.

The pair had just passed Lingy Hut - a walkers' shelter just below the summit of Great Lingy Hill in the Northern Fells. some 600m above sea level - and the man's plan had been to carry on to High Pike in the Caldbeck Fells.

Though the man tried to carry the terrier, it proved to be too tiring. Cold and exhausted, the man dialled 999 and asked for the mountain rescue team before returning to the mountain shelter to wait for help.

A spokesman for Keswick Mountain Rescue Team said: "A small team drove to Mosedale mines from where they quickly climbed up to the hut where they found the man and his dog.

"With visions of Great Danes and Rottweilers and the possibility of having to call more team members to stretcher the dog off the team were pleased to find a small and easily portable, cold, shivering terrier. The pair were escorted down to the track at Mosedale road end where one of the team members was able to drive the man and his dog to their accommodation in Caldbeck."

Six team members were involved in the rescue, which lasted just over two hours.