The 'fortified' UFO spotters' lights were seen on the Sticks Pass. Photo: Mick Garratt CC-BY-SA-2.0
A group of UFO spotters prompted a callout by mountain rescuers after their lights were spotted by a member of the public.
Keswick Mountain Rescue Team was alerted in the early hours of Sunday when police were called with a report of lights stationary on Sticks Pass on the Helvellyn range.
A deputy team leader went to the site above Legburthwaite after being alerted about 25 minutes past midnight, to find out if anyone was in difficulties.
A team spokesperson said: “It turned out to be a number of UFO spotters, who, shall we say, had ‘fortified themselves’ before taking to the hill.
“They were persuaded to come down for their own safety.”
The previous day, the team turned out to help a 31-year-old man who slipped and injured his ankle while coming down Grains Gill in Borrowdale.
“Although his companions managed to carry him about 300m, it was obvious they weren’t going to get down without help.
“They were well equipped with a shelter and the relevant equipment, which was just as well, as it was snowing by then, and looked after their companion until the team arrived.
“The casualty was stretchered down to Seathwaite Farm, and an ambulance transferred the casualty to the West Cumberland Hospital [in Whitehaven] for treatment.”
The 3¼-hour rescue involved 15 team members.
The Keswick team also mounted an unsuccessful search on Monday for a missing man in the Harrop Tarn and Blea Tarn area.
Five search dog teams joined 17 Keswick MRT members in the operation looking for the man who was reported missing from home.
The spokesperson said: “Despite a significant amount of ground being searched, nothing was found.”
The search lasted more than four hours and was the Keswick team’s 92nd this year.
Fred scuttle
06 November 2012This is getting ridiculous! I am pixxed up people looking for aliens...... Should have been prosecuted for causing the false alarm....... Et go home....
R Webb
06 November 2012Any different looking for aliens/Americans/Russians than looking to put a tick in a book?
Sarah Harding
06 November 2012Yes very different indeed.... And we're not all putting ticks in boxes..... And if we were we'd be sensible enough to know that going out onto the fells drunk at that time of night would only lead to trouble in one way or another..... By risking the safety of the mrt organisations they are just being complete idiots.... Enough said..... Idiot!
Jhimmy
07 November 2012Am I missing something here? The UFO spotters didn't call the police, it was a member of the public. The spotters like many hillwalkers wish to stay on the hills at night. Is this site now going to be the "GOTHAT" (get off the hills at night) campaign headquarters?
@ Sarah. You've read to much into a bad article. How do you define "Drunk"? How drunk were they? It doesn't tell you. The article is badly amalgamated with a different story about a rescue straight after the UFO spotters paragraph. It's blurred your opinion.
Margaret
08 November 2012Sarah, years and years ago I helped on rescues (but was never a team member) up in Lochaber on the Ben etc. Even at night in winter I never felt at risk in and about the steep bits. Tired, wet, cold and wanting to get to bed maybe, but lets not over dramatise things - though on occasion some team members will have to get into dangerous situations.