Brailsford Church, scene of the rescue. Photo: Clive Woolliscroft CC-BY-SA-2.0

Mountain rescuers were called out to a Derbyshire village after an appeal for help for a woman who had suffered arm and hip injuries.

In a departure from the team’s usual stomping ground, Derby Mountain Rescue Team had to negotiate a narrow spiral staircase to reach the woman in the bell tower of a church.

The woman had suffered the injuries during a bellringing session at the church near the village of Brailsford, between Derby and Ashbourne.

A team spokesperson said: “Due to the extremely narrow spiral stairway leading up to the bell tower, the team’s expertise was called upon for the extraction.

“A local team member was first on scene and provided medical attention while other team members arrived to evacuate the casualty. She was placed in a vacuum mattress – effectively an all-body splint – and carried down the stairs to be handed over to an East Midlands Ambulance Service crew.

“As we say these days: ‘Mountain rescue – more than just mountains’.”