Boy, 10, airlifted to hospital after slipping on snow and plunging 165ft down England's third highest mountain

A 10-year-old boy was last night flown to hospital after falling 165ft down a snow-covered mountain.
The boy, from Preston, Lancashire, was climbing down Swirral Edge ridge on Helvellyn in the Lake District with his father at 3:30pm yesterday when he slipped on a steep slope, mountain rescue said.
A doctor and paramedic were dropped on the ridge by an air ambulance, and rescuers made their way to the boy. He was conscious, but doctors suspected he had pelvic and head injuries.

Treacherous: Swirral Edge (circled) is one of two edges enclosing the cirque of Red Tarn below the 3,117ft summit of Helvellyn, England's third highest mountain

Help: A Great North Air Ambulance helicopter responds to the emergency on Swirral Edge in the Lake District

The boy, who was placed on a vacuum mattress, was winched with his father and a doctor into an RAF Sea King helicopter, which flew them to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Swirral Edge is one of two edges enclosing the cirque of Red Tarn below the 3,117ft summit of Helvellyn, England's third highest mountain.
A Lake District felltop assessor's report from yesterday warned that only experienced walkers should attempt Swirral Edge and they should take care, using crampons and ice axes.

Tricky route: The boy, from Preston, Lancashire, was climbing down Swirral Edge ridge on Helvellyn (file photo)

Location: The boy, from Preston, was climbing down Swirral Edge ridge on Helvellyn in the Lake District with his father at 3:30pm yesterday when he slipped on a steep slope, Patterdale mountain rescue said

It said: ‘Swirral and Striding Edges have bare dry rock interspersed with patches of hard ice.
‘Their steep exit ramps are covered by deep, unavoidable hard snow and ice and should only be tackled by those experienced and equipped for such conditions.
‘Full winter clothing and equipment is essential for anyone venturing out onto the fells and going above the snowline.
‘For those attempting, or traversing, steep ground, an ice axe and crampons are also essential - especially given an overnight frost.’

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