Mountain rescue volunteers had to wear skis to battle with deep snow and reach a stricken casualty in Northumberland.
The v olunteers, from both Northumberland National Park and North of Tyne Mountain Rescue Teams, carried out the dangerous seven hour operation on Thursday night to reach a remote farm.
The North East Ambulance Service requested the teams' help to reach a patient in the Upper Coquetdale valley, which was inaccessible due to deep snow.
The teams reached as far as they could in vehicles, driving through snow until they couldn’t progress any further.
The mountain rescuers then travelled on foot and skis through deep snow to finally reach the farm.
Conditions were "extremely difficult" with the temperature dropping below -12C.
On arrival, the patient was quickly assessed by a mountain rescue team medic and given the seriousness of the situation, the decision was made to request a helicopter from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
Team members arrived on scene to assist with a stretcher carryout to the helicopter
Rescue 199 from Prestwick was then able to land, despite the difficult location and conditions.
Team leader Iain Nixon said: “Conditions were incredibly challenging in the National Park and this is a good example of how crucial the role of mountain rescues teams is during extreme weather events.
"Thanks to some brilliant inter-agency team work, we were able to deliver the best outcome for the patient.
"We’d like to thank the paramedics from North East Ambulance Service and helicopter crew from HMCG Prestwick.
“We would also like to remind the public that there is a huge amount of snow in the National Park and then if anyone requires help from Mountain Rescue, a call out in these conditions would take many hours.”
