FOUR walkers were rescued from “dreadful” weather on the Pennine Moors.
Police were joined by Holme Valley Mountain Rescue volunteers to save the walkers, stranded near Black Hill yesterday afternoon.
Two of them had been swept into a stream swollen by the torrential rain but managed to clamber clear of the raging water.
But they had to call for help after being unable to continue.
The walkers, all in their 60s, had set off from Edale on Thursday to walk the Pennine Way to Malham.
But yesterday afternoon, as they headed across Black Hill towards Wessenden, they ran into problems as the weather worsened.
West Yorkshire Police received a 999 call from the group at 3pm saying that two had been injured.
The West Yorkshire Police helicopter was scrambled to the scene and police alerted the Holme Valley rescue team.
Holme Valley’s Owen Phillips said: “The walkers were suitably dressed and equipped for the walk they were doing but they were caught out by the weather.
“It really was horrible up there and all the streams and becks were turned into torrents by the rain.
“Two of the walkers had previous leg injuries and they were exacerbated by the cold and the rain.
“Two did try to cross a stream near Black Hill but were swept downstream, so they were very cold and wet when they managed to scramble out.
“We met up with police and ambulance crews at Wessenden but advised them not to try and get on the moor.
“The walkers were at least a mile from the road and when we did reach them, they were very cold.
“We managed to warm them up with the extra kit we were carrying but then had to rig up stretchers and ropes to get them over the streams.
“Once we had them warmed up we were able to walk them off the moor to the road and into the ambulances”.
Two of the walkers were taken to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary for a check-up but were not detained.
