THE number of incidents attended by a mountain rescue team decreased by 14 per cent in 2022.

Coniston Mountain Rescue Team (CMRT) attributed the reduction to 54 callouts from 63 in the previous year to the 'large numbers' of visitors to the Lakes in 2021 'because Covid-19 restricted flying to the Mediterranean for holidays'.

A CMRT spokesman said on social media that 'for once, lower-leg injuries were not the most frequent cause for callouts'.

"This year, lost walkers caused significantly more incidents," said the spokesman.

"Several of these could have been avoided by better planning or equipment (map and compass) or trying a bit harder at self-rescue before calling us, but some did the right thing by calling before getting themselves into more trouble on steep ground."