AN ELDERLY man suffered serious injuries after falling 130ft in a remote part of the Lake District.

The 65-year-old from York was walking in Sour Milk Gill, Borrowdale, when he fell.

He was airlifted to hospital by the Great North Air Ambulance after the accident which happened at about 6.35pm on Monday. He suffered major head, chest and back injuries.

A volunteer from Keswick Mountain Rescue, who lives nearby, was alerted and went straight to the scene while the team's Land Rover made its way down the valley.

Two other vehicles were sent out and asked for help from an RAF Sea King helicopter and an air ambulance.

The RAF crew winched the injured man out of and flew him to nearby Seathwaite Farm, where he was transferred to the air ambulance.

A spokesman for the air ambulance said: "He had sustained multiple serious injuries and had come to rest in an area completely inaccessible by road.

"A Sea King aircraft and crew from RAF Boulmer were able to winch the patient and fly him down the hillside, where our helicopter was waiting to take him to hospital.

"Keswick Mountain Rescue Team also played a key role in the rescue."

The man was flown to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, receiving treatment on the way.

The spokesman added: "We had to fly through difficult dark and wintery conditions but arrived safely after a 30-minute flight. The patient was stable on arrival."