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Hikers ignoring lockdown rules have to be rescued from ‘Arctic’ Peak District
The conditions were described as ‘Arctic’
A group of hikers had to be saved from cold and snowy conditions after ignoring lockdown rules and going for a hike in the Peak District.
Four hikers called rescue teams on Saturday after getting lost on Bleaklow Moor in Derbyshire.
They had travelled 25 miles from Middleton to visit the 1948 plane crash site, despite ‘stay at home’ and ‘stay local’ restrictions.
The Peak District had ‘Arctic’ conditions with seriously deep snow that a spokesperson from the rescue team said ‘could have been fatal’.
A team of 25 volunteers went looking for the group at 3:40pm in the afternoon on Saturday, according to Peter Józefczyk of Glossop Mountain Rescue.
The group had reportedly been walking for five hours before becoming lost and ‘too exhausted’ to carry on.
The group of four, two men and two women, were all in their 20s and were soon located thanks to gaining phone signal.
Mr Józefczyk said: “With the wind-chill, it felt like minus 12 degrees. When we found them, they were extremely cold.
“If they’d been a kilometre away, they might not have had a phone signal.
“It could potentially have been fatal.”
Since March, Mr Józefczyk and his team have seen an increase of 70% in call-outs and that it was becoming ‘ridiculous’.
Despite the recent lockdown restrictions, the rescue team have been called to Bleaklow Moor four times in two weeks.
He added: “My message to people is: Stick to the rules and stay at home.”