A WOMAN who sustained a serious ankle fracture at a Yorkshire Dales beauty spot was evacuated by rescuers who contended with protective clothing on an 'almost unbearably hot' afternoon.

A spokesman for the Cave Rescue Organisation (CRO) said: "Yorkshire Ambulance Service asked for assistance after a walker slipped on the path from Malham Rakes (also known as 'the tarn road’) to the top of Malham Cove."

After the woman, 42, had been treated by paramedics who attended the incident on Thursday at around 3.30pm, CRO team members took her to a waiting ambulance on a wheeled stretcher.

The CRO spokesman said: "Although normally a very simple type of incident, this stretcher evacuation was slowed by the need to protect team members with protective clothing which was almost unbearably hot on a beautifully sunny afternoon.

"Also, as a safety precaution, all equipment was decontaminated afterwards."

The CRO reported Malham Cove was 'very busy' on Thursday.