MOUNTAIN rescue services in the Ryedale area have seen their busiest ever year.

Scarborough and Ryedale Mountain Rescue Team (SRMRT) has been to 85 callouts so far in 2016; significantly more than their general average, which is about 30 a year.

Ian Huggill, incident controller and press officer at the unit, said: "Last year we had 80, but that was greatly boosted by the work we did during the flooding at the end of December."

Mr Huggill said the team wasn't sure why the volume of callouts this year has been so much higher than average, and that the incidents they have attended this year have been a "real mix".

"There's been a lot of work for police looking for vulnerable persons, for example those with dementia. Also, Dalby Forest has seen a lot more mountain bikers, which is great, but we have seen an increase in incidents.

"Then there's the 'slips, trips and falls' on the moors, or people going out without torches then having trouble reading their map and navigating when darkness falls."

Everyone in the Scarborough and Ryedale Mountain Rescue Team is a volunteer, and the team rely on charitable donations to fund their work and equipment.

For more information about SRMRT, go to srmrt.org.uk