Hodge Close Quarry, scene of the rescue. Photo: Karl and Ali CC-BY-SA-2.0

A climber was seriously injured while on a Lake District route.

The man was climbing in Hodge Close Quarry, near Tilberthwaite, on Saturday when he was hit by a rockfall.

Members of the Coniston Mountain Rescue Team were alerted at 12.20pm and went to the climber’s aid.

Jeff Carroll of the team said: “The climber was treated for serious hand and minor foot injuries by team members and paramedics from the Great North Air Ambulance.

“He was evacuated from the quarry and transferred to hospital in Preston by GNAA.”

The previous day, the Coniston team had been involved in a major search for a missing kayaker on Coniston after a member of the public found fishing gear and clothing on a slipway. An empty, upturned kayak had also been discovered at Nibthwaite on the River Crake, which flows out of the lake.

Coniston MRT was contacted by police at 12.40pm on Friday.

Mr Carroll said: “Eleven team members and a search dog were deployed in boats and on the lake margins to check for signs of the missing person. Cumbria Police, HM Coastguard and Lake District national park staff were also involved in the search.

“The team was stood down following a significant sighting by a police helicopter, it is understood that later that evening the North West Police Underwater Search Team retrieved a body from the lake.”

A man’s body was pulled from the water about 6.30pm. Formal identification has not taken place, but the coroner Ian Smith has been informed.

Police are not treating the death as suspicious.

• Cockermouth Mountain Rescue Team was called to help a 55-year-old walker who had fallen on Sunday near Ling Crag, overlooking the west shore of Crummock Water.

The 55-year-old broke her arm in the slip. She was treated by members of the rescue team before being airlifted to hospital in Whitehaven by the North West Air Ambulance.

Team members escorted her walking companions to Buttermere.