A PENSIONER with a broken arm was airlifted from the moors above Marsden.
And the drama became the first joint operation that the Holme Valley Mountain Rescue Team had had with the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.
The 67-year-old woman, a diabetic who also suffers from the brittle bone disease, osteoporosis, was walking with her husband on the Pennine Way at Black Moss on Saturday afternoon when she slipped and hurt her arm.
Her husband rang the West Yorkshire ambulance service on his mobile phone and they contacted Holme Valley Mountain Rescue Team.
Volunteers walked about a mile to reach the couple.
Team leader Peter Phillips said: "I received the call about 1.30pm on Saturday and mobilised the rescue team."
He said the nearest access point on the moor to the woman was at Wessenden Lodge, a private house.
"We walked about a mile across the moor and found the woman.
"The air ambulance landed about 100 metres away from her and flew her to Wessenden Lodge.
"The owner of the lodge was in and has a helicopter of his own, so he advised us of a good landing site.
"We lit a flare to guide the helicopter where to land," added Mr Phillips.
The woman was transferred to a conventional ambulance and taken to hospital.
This meant the air ambulance could then be used for other emergencies.
Mr Phillips added that working with the air ambulance made sure the woman was brought to safety quickly and also saved rescue team members from having to carry a stretcher a long way.
The woman's husband, who did not want to be named, said: "The air ambulance and the Holme Valley Rescue Team did a very good job.
"We could not have got off the moors without them," he added.
