A man was stretchered from a Lake District mountain and taken to hospital following a fall.

Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team went to his rescue on the Glenridding valley path leading to Red Tarn on the eastern flank of Helvellyn on Saturday.

It comes as the Lake District Search and Mountain Rescue Association put out an Easter message to advise people of how to stay safe on the fells.

Rescuers assessed the man's ankle injuries and splinted his leg. A rope system was employed to haul the stretcher to a waiting Land Rover ambulance on the opposite side of the Valley.

The man, from Twickenham, was assessed at the team's rescue centre before he was referred to Carlisle's Cumberland Infirmary for further treatment.

The rescue involved 13 members and lasted two hours.

The association distributed thousands of leaflets ahead of the bank holiday weekend, which included helpful information about what to wear, kits and potential dangers and hazards to avoid.

A spokesman said: "These safety leaflets are primarily targeting those people who perhaps need a little bit of help in preparing themselves for their outings onto the fells, many of whom won’t have been high up on a mountain before.

"We were relieved to see the numbers of call outs in 2016 drop by around 10 per cent compared to 2015 where we had a worrying 535 call outs.

"Last year still received a large number of around a hundreds ‘999’ calls for what we regard as totally avoidable."

It costs around £500,000 a year to run the 12 teams which are funded through voluntary donations.

Patterdale MRT also treated a four-year-old boy who was brought to the rescue centre with a head injury.

The youngster, who had fallen down some stairs and banged his head, was examined by a MRT doctor before being referred to Penrith Minor Injury unit for further assessment.