Dog walker falls down 32ft ravine on forest walk

Rescuers spent more than five hours trying to reach a dog walker who fell 32ft (10m) down a ravine in a North Yorkshire forest.

The woman followed her pet when it went over a steep drop on the Bridestones trail at Dalby Forest near Pickering on Wednesday.

Scarborough and Ryedale Mountain Rescue Team (SRMRT) said although the dog had been unhurt, its owner had been seriously injured.

After a "technical" rope extraction, she was airlifted to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough by the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

Forestry England confirmed the circular Bridestones route and car park had been closed to visitors for several hours during the rescue operation.

An SRMRT spokesperson said: "Once on scene we discovered that the patient had fallen in excess of 10m down steep ground, following her dog going over the edge.

"The uninjured dog was quickly restrained and recovered to safe ground by team members while treatment of the lady continued.

"Upon assessing her injuries and working with paramedics from the air ambulance, we administered pain relief before protecting the patient in a vacuum mattress."

Dalby Forest rangers helped the volunteers to rig a rope system which hauled the woman up the vertical rock face on a bell stretcher.

She was then transported to the waiting air ambulance in a mountain rescue vehicle.

SRMRT said 16 team members had been involved in the call-out, which lasted five-and-a-half hours.

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