Rescuers were called out to a walker who had become stranded on a dangerous edge of a Lake District mountain.

The 30-year-old man could find no way to safety after losing his way on Blencathra's Sharp Edge. He was stuck on the slippery rocks in the dark when help arrived.

Keswick Mountain Rescue Team were alerted at about 8.20pm on Monday and it took 16 members more than four hours to bring the man to safety.

A spokesman for the team said: "He had been negotiating the edge with a friend, but they had become separated, and he had tried to find a way back down.

"He became cragfast in a very precarious position on the edge of a steep drop on the north side.

"With the rain coming in, this swiftly became a really unpleasant place to be as he was unable to move at all from what appeared to be the only safe point."

The callout came as the team finished rescuing a 75-year-old man who had become hypothermic and was unable to move above Force Crag Mine, at the head of Coledale Valley.

He was found by a couple who were walking in the area. They raised the alarm and with the help of a couple of mountain bikers tried to keep him warm until the team arrived. He was put into a survival bag and stretched to a waiting vehicle.

Heading to Blencathra, and with their swiftest members at the front, it was an hour before they were on the scene to help the stranded man.

They rigged the crag to ensure the safety of the casualty and of the team member who was to be lowered to him. The man was put into a harness and they negotiated a way down until he could be recovered on the lower path.

The spokesman added: "We would just re-iterate our advice that Sharp Edge is a serious undertaking, and once bad weather arrives, the risks escalate swiftly.

"The rock holds water, and is nearly always slippery – pick your day, and watch your step."