A mobile phone app helped save the life of a man who fell 60ft down a Lake District fell.

Mountain rescuers say he was lucky to be found thanks to the Apple App Find My Friends.

The rescue, near Priest's Hole on Dove Crag, was one of five undertaken by Patterdale Mountain Rescue team in less than 24 hours.

The walker had fallen and suffered a head injury at about 9am yesterday.

Team leader Mike Blakey contacted him but struggled to identify his location, which turned out to be a kilometer away from the location given to police.

He said: "He had no idea where he was as he had spent the night on the mountain having failed to locate the Priest Hole cave where he had planned to stay the evening before.

"He had set off in the forecast heavy rain and cloud and having spent the night in thick cloud he began to descend the wrong way in the morning and the fell into the top of a steep gully well above the cave."

Luckily he had a mobile data signal and Mr Blakey could see his location on the app, which uses AirDrop and Wi-Fi to send satellite images.

He sent a grid reference to the team making on the ground, while reassuring the man help was on the way.

"He was clearly very scared and upset," said Mr Blakey.

But the man put the unfolding incident on Facebook, wasting the his battery and prompting friends to make additional 999 calls.

"This was unhelpful and a distraction for all concerned during what was a complex rescue," said the team leader.

His battery died minutes later and the team lost contact with him.

The Coastguard Rescue Helicopter winched the casualty to safety and transferred him to hospital. He was released later that day having only suffered bruising. The Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) were also involved.

Deputy team leader, Mike Rippon, who was on the ground, said: "It appears that the man tumbled down the gully for 60 feet stopping short of falling on and over the front of the crags. He was one heck of a lucky lad."

The team's first shout, on Sunday afternoon, was to a woman with a knee injury on Place Fell, near Ullswater, who was stretched down the valley.

As she was transferred to a waiting ambulance, they were alerted to two walkers stranded on on Striding Edge, Helvellyn. This rescue ended late on Sunday evening.

On their way back from Monday's Dove Crag incident the team were called to a glider crashed on Old Coach Road, on the Helvellyn range, along with the GNAAS.

They later went to the aid of a man in his seventies suffering chest pains near Pooley Bridge.

The team is reminding walkers to plan ahead, check the forecast, ensure they have mobile phone battery in case of emergencies.