A 54-YEAR-OLD walker who became disorientated and began to suffer from hypothermia had to be rescued on Tuesday.

The Guisborough man was spotted by a mountain biker from Ingleby Greenhow, near Great Ayton, near Bloworth Crossing, one of the highest points of the North York Moors.

The cyclist became concerned for the walker and phoned one of his friends, a member of Cleveland Mountain Rescue Team.

Team members drove in a Landrover ambulance and quickly located the wet and cold walker, who was been escorted off the moor tops by the mountain biker.

The man explained he had set out walking from Guisborough and had become completely lost as the weather deteriorated and darkness fell.

After refreshing the walker with tea and Mars Bars, members of the rescue team transported the man to his home in Guisborough.

Team spokesman, Pete Mounsey said: “This gentleman was very lucky to have been found by the mountain biker as he would have been unlikely to survive the night on the remote moor top without any food or adequate equipment.”