Rescuers in action at the Millstone Edge incident. Photo: Edale MRT

A climber was seriously injured in a fall at a Peak District crag.

The 45-year-old woman, from York, fell 5m (16ft) and landed on a ledge at Millstone Edge above Hathersage.

Edale Mountain Rescue Team was called out to the incident on Saturday and was faced a difficult operation to treat and lower the injured climber.

Martin Gorman of the team said: “The vast majority of climbing accidents that the team are called to involve people who have ended up at the foot of the crag.

“In this case, a woman had fallen 5m and landed on a ledge around 50ft above the ground.

“The team was quickly on scene and a team doctor climbed down to the ledge to assess her injuries while other team members set up a rope system to recover the casualty.

“The climber was treated on the ledge for serious multiple fractures to both legs as well as potential pelvic and spinal injuries, while a stretcher was manoeuvred carefully into position.

“The injured climber was sedated to allow her legs to be splinted before being loaded on to the stretcher and lowered to the ground.”

The woman was then carried to the waiting Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland Air Ambulance which flew her to the Northern General Hospital in Sheffield for further treatment.

Mr Gorman added: “This was an unusual job for the team and one in which our training really paid dividends, allowing the safe and rapid recovery of a badly injured casualty from a difficult situation.”

Almost immediately after the rescue, the team was called to a paraglider pilot who had crashed on Bradwell Edge.

“He had a badly broken leg and was treated on scene by team members before being flown to Sheffield by our colleagues on the DLRAA helicopter which had just delivered the previous casualty,” Mr Gorman said.

On Sunday afternoon Edale MRT was called to an 18-year-old climber who had fallen at Burbage South, suffering a head injury.

He was treated and the scene and again and carried to the DLRAA helicopter which airlifted him to hospital in Sheffield.