The two injured men were met on Heather Terrace on Tryfan's East Face

Two injured walkers were rescued after they left a trail of blood down a Snowdonia mountainside.

The pair lost their way making their way down Tryfan after separating from two other companions.

Their friends rang 999 after the two walkers contacted them from the mountain.

Rescuers then located the injured men by the light of their mobile phone after they had made a precipitous descent part way down the side of the peak.

Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Organisation members were called out about 7pm yesterday, after police contacted them following the emergency call.

Chris Lloyd of the rescue team said: “It had been a fine day and a party of four men from Merseyside had set off up Tryfan, probably the Western Gully.

“The men, all in their late 60s and 70s made the summit but then split into two pairs. One pair successfully returned to their car probably via the South Ridge. The other pair probably intended to return via the Western Gully but made a navigational error resulting in a descent of Green Gully on the East Face.

“This is not a recognised path. On their steep descent one man took a 2m fall followed by a 4m tumble, severely lacerating his head and bruising his chest.

“His colleague made haste to reach him but also fell, dislocating one finger and severely lacerating another.

“Being of the old school, they took stock, made temporary repairs and continued their descent. They did make contact with their friends who decided to make the 999 call.

“As daylight failed team members had to locate the casualties for they did not know which side of the mountain they were on. Not having torches, their location was found by the light of their mobile phone.

“A strong hasty party made their way along the Heather Terrace to find the two men now on the terrace, having left a blood trail down Green Gully.

“It was decided that the best casualty evacuation would be with the Sea King from RAF Valley, so the two were winched aboard on a clear, still starlit evening.”

The rescue ended about 9.30pm.

The previous day, team members were involved in the aftermath of a fatal incident near Llandudno.

Mr Lloyd said: “A motorist taking an early morning drive around the Great Orme headland to get some dawn photographs came across the body of a young man in the middle of the road, just below some 45m-high [150ft] cliffs.

“Team members spent the morning, assisted by RAF Valley MRT members, scouring the cliffs for clues as to how the man had arrived on the road.”

The information was gathered for the coroner.

At the weekend, team Ogwen Valley team members spent the night and early hours of the morning searching for an elderly man who was missing.

Mr Lloyd said the team was alerted at 1am on Sunday to help North Wales Police in the search for an 82-year-old man from Bethesda who did not return home after going to a car boot sale near Bangor.

“After exhaustive overnight searching of the industrial estate, cemetery and other immediate areas, team members had a two-hour break for a quick nap and breakfast before continuing searching the larger area including the grounds of Penrhyn Castle.

“It was only in the afternoon, the gentleman was found in rough ground adjacent to someone’s house, by the home owner who was cutting his lawn. Apart from being cold, dehydrated and midge bitten, the casualty was fine.

“Team members stretchered him out from the undergrowth and he was taken to hospital by the ambulance service.”

Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Organisation members have been called out 83 times this year.