A MOUNTAIN rescue team was called out to rescue a kayaker who got into difficulty in a tributary of the River Ure in Wensleydale.

Swaledale Mountain Rescue Team, which also serves Wensleydale, sent a group of 20 volunteers to help the man out of a small ravine in Gayle Beck, near Hawes.

Rescue leader Alan Woodhead, also a keen canoeist, said the man had already been rescued from the water by two of his colleagues and that the experienced kayakers had done exactly the right thing.

“We have had a lot of rescues recently because we had a very dry summer – but you can only canoe when there is water in the river.

“These guys were very experienced and well-prepared and had got the man out of the water. We winched the man out of the steep river bank, across a couple of fields and to the paramedics, who took him to hospital to give him a check-up.”

Mr Woodhead said his team were called out at around 10am this morning (Monday, December 22) and the rescue took about three hours to complete.

It is Swaledale Mountain Rescue Team’s 35th rescue of the year, topping last year’s record 34 call-outs.