Two ramblers have admitted breaching coronavirus lockdown rules after their 60-mile trip to climb a Yorkshire peak ended with them having to be rescued.
The couple phoned police for help after becoming lost amid fog and snow on Ingleborough, a 725 metre high summit in the Dales National Park.
Volunteer rescuers had to be deployed to find the man and woman, who had travelled all the way from Rochdale.
Supt Mike Walker, of North Yorkshire Police, said: “This couple were incredibly fortunate to have come through this experience without injury and be able to tell the tale.”
But he added: “Quite simply driving miles and miles, out of your village, town or city to visit an open space is not a necessary journey and is not acceptable.
"Neither is arriving at a challenging walking location, inexperienced and unprepared in treacherous weather conditions."
He said the pair’s "irresponsible and ill-informed decision" could have risked the safety of rescuers – both during the operation and by potentially exposing them to coronavirus – and may have placed further pressure upon an already strained the NHS.
The incident, on Sunday evening, was just one of scores the force says it has had to deal with over the last week with large numbers of people visiting beauty sports in the Dales.
Julia Mulligan, North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, said "taking a day trip to North Yorkshire from elsewhere" was not a valid reason for travel.
